The Lit Match:Sequel to WDSTF:An Axel Fic
by Emi Hikari
Summary: More of the amazingness that WDSTF left off with, only maxed out. Takes place in the time period of KH2.
1. Chapter 1: I'm Not One to Beg

Intro

Memo: Well, I suppose the Axel fans have been looking forward to this one. Personally, I have been, too. This is a character database again. Notice the changes. Know what I found out? Nexus means "a center", Axel _also_ means "a center", and Sune doesn't have a meaning. hahahahahahahahaha.... I actually named Nexus after a line of hair care products with only one "x"...lol

Main Character: Nexus

Age: 20

Hair: Long, black with hot pink streaks

Eyes: Blue-ish green, like the ocean

Likes: Axel, her gun, her mission, Axel, Naminé, sarcasm, freedom, Axel, people who like her for HER, Sora, Riku, Kairi, have I mentioned Axel yet?...

Dislikes: DiZ, Sune (aka "the other me"), Ienzo/Zexion and any other traitor in the Organization, people who make fun of her for any reason whatsoever, and people who become biased about her being "bad"

Quick Summary: Nexus is extremely loyal and always keep her promises. She doesn't mind having too much fun, and she is a bit of a con artist at heart. She is a little quick to judge, but she really loves people and treasures any real friendships she has. She has been through a lot of really difficult, mind-blowing stuff, but she is a stronger person because of it.

Secondary character: Sune

Age: ?

Hair: ?

Eyes: ?

Likes: ?

Dislikes: ?

Quick Summary: As before, little is known about Sune. The only real thing we know about her is that she's somehow connected with Nexus. This story, I'm happy to say, reveals everything you need to know and more.

And, the Obvious: Axel

Age: ? but appears to be in early twenties

Hair: Spiky, scarlet

Eyes: Bright green

Likes: Nexus, making fun of people, Roxas, Sora

Dislikes: sadness, or any type of negative emotion he can't remember, being a Nobody, not knowing Nexus' full past story, almost all of the Organization

Quick Summary: Axel hasn't changed much since you last heard from him. He still loves messing up people's plans. He also is still working for himself, so to speak. He knows what is taking so long with Sora's memories, and he's a bit concerned for Nexus' mental state.

So...this is what's been going on, huh? She hasn't done anything in the past year. I suppose it benefits me. If she's out of the picture, I can be whole and not have to worry about her idiocy. DiZ was sick of her to begin with. I was, too. But I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for her. Then again...how can I not? She is part of me, as am I a part of her.

Time is running out.

Chapter 1: I'm Not One to Beg, But... (double u-x3 dot youtube dot com/watch?v=vloAeUsG38I)

Memo: YAY!!! FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SEQUEL!! I missed Nexus! ^_-

Let me tell you something about myself:

I am extremely impatient.

Sure, it could've been worse. I guess I could've been mental and wanted to destroy the world. But for my situation, it was completely retarded.

I missed Axel, and I hated waiting. I hated not knowing where he was or if he was alright or not. I hated that stuff almost as much as I hated being alone, without Axel. He was my best friend...and more (at least to me!). So let's face it. I was lonely beyond relief. The only person I was in constant contact with was Naminé, and, no offense to the girl, she didn't do much besides sit around and repair memories...and occasionally we'd talk. That was always fun.

Naminé had become like a sister to me. She was almost always there when I wanted to spill my freaking half-there heart out about anything. But a lot of the time she was busy with Sora's memories. So I guess I spent a lot of time by myself, thinking about things.

I thought a lot about Axel. But, actually, I think I thought more about Sune and DiZ than him; thinking of him made me incredibly depressed for the whole rest of the day.

The situation with Sune was becoming really unclear. I could feel her prescence as the year went on, always there. I then realized what it meant: time was running short. I couldn't wait much longer. If worst came to worst, I would've had to have left Twilight Town and gone to kick butt myself, with or without Sora. Or Axel.

And yes, I did say a year. Naminé was having some serious troubles putting Sora's memory back. Apparently, it was something to do with some puppet named Xion? I still don't understand it all, so that's all I'll say about that. Anyway, I prayed every night that it would be my last in this place.

I really, really, really hated Twilight Town. It was a constant reminder of DiZ, simply because he moved me and Naminé there to begin with. For real. But I didn't actually see him. Naminé said he did something to me, like put me out, because he didn't want to speak with me.

But, back on topic, Naminé was usually busy with Sora's memory. She always sat in this little chair. I could always, without fail, find her there, unless she found me first. But one day, she was missing.

"Naminé?" I said, walking around. I wondered if she had gone to see Sora. I ran to the room the flowery contraptions were in. Sora was still there, his clothes extremely small now. He had grown up in that bubble, but, then again, I guess I did, too. I matured some, I think... and I did get a little taller. The only way I knew that was because my Organization robe was short on me. I wore it anyway.

"Naminé, you down here?" I asked. There was no response. "Naminé..._Namin__é_!!"

"I'm over here, Nexus, sorry!" she finally replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked around next to Donald's bubble to see Naminé standing there, a little red-faced. She looked embarrassed with herself. "I..left."

"I noticed. What were you doing?"

"I-I went to see Roxas."

"......Roxas....?"

I furrowed my brow, trying to remember why that name sounded familiar. Roxas...Roxas...

FLASHBACK START

"......Wait. You're forgetting someone. That's only 12. I don't count, remember?"

"...I didn't forget anyone. More like someone forgot me."

"Axel......so it's this 13th person we're dealing with, am I right?"

"That would be correct."

"What is this person's name, pray tell?"

"His name is Roxas."

"Roxas...?"

"Sora's Nobody."

FLASHBACK END

It hit me. HE was the reason Axel left!!

"Roxas!?" I shouted angrily. "_Him_! Take me to him, Naminé."

"I-I can't. It's really risky. DiZ'll figure it out that we're leaving, and he'll get mad--"

"Naminé, do you really think _I_ would care? DiZ knows I'm rebellious. He'll learn to deal. Please."

Naminé didn't respond right away. I pouted a little. I'm not one to beg, but I knew if I saw Roxas, I might find Axel. And if I found Axel, we'd HAVE to get back together, right? That's what I figured, anyway.

"Naminé, I'll take the blame, PLEASE!!!" I begged, clasping my hands together. "You know all I want is to see Axel again. That's it. Pleeeeease! Pretty pleeeeease?"

"...Tomorrow."

I let out a huge sigh. "Thank you, Naminé! I swear, I'll find some way to repay you. Seriously. You have no idea how much this means to--"

Naminé waved her hand casually as if batting a bug away. "It's fine, Nex."

*Nex...*

FLASHBACK START

"You okay, Nex?" Axel asked, placing his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, trying not to show emotion.

"I'm fine, but what's with the nickname?" I replied, smirking.

"I dunno. Kind of popped into my head. Got it memorized?"

"Sure. Just don't call me that again."

"Okay, then, Nexy."

"AH!! That's worse. I take it back. Call me Nex. Just never call me Nexy again."

FLASHBACK END

Axel's nickname for me...

I stretched my arms and walked back into the room with Sora's bubble.

"So, Sora," I said quietly, "we're gonna be traveling together. You know what that means? That means you get to boss me around, just like you wanted. I know you're looking forward to that."

FLASHBACK START

"And me-I'm looking for Riku," Sora said. "He was with the king when the door closed. That was easy. I guess we really can't forget the most important memories. Right, Nexus?"

I jumped up, slowly breaking into a grin. "Clever boy, aren't we?" I said, giggling.

"Hey! I'm not a boy anymore!"

"You still sound like one, though. I think that pretty much qualifies you as a grade A boy!!" I walked over and squeezed Sora's cheeks.

"Hey! Hey! Cut that out!" Sora batted my hand away, massaging his cheeks. "I swear, if I was older than you..."

"What, would you boss me around?"

"Yeah!"

I laughed heartily at this response. He was bold. "Really. Well, I'll keep that in mind, if I'm ever old and decrepit and need an aid to take care of me. I'll call you up first, okay?"

FLASHBACK END

I chuckled at how small Sora's clothes had gotten. If getting his memory back had taken any longer, he'd have been wearing practically nothing. I shuddered at the thought and walked back upstairs to my "bedroom."

*Axel,* I prayed, *remember our promise. Please, remember your promise. I'm still your partner. Remember that, too.*

This was my nightly prayer. I also prayed it would work.

The Next Morning...

I slowly opened my eyes, wondering why I had slept so little. Then I remembered what was supposed to happen today. I knew it was way too early to wake Naminé, so I closed my eyes again, trying to think of a plan. A plan for what, you ask? A plan to get Axel back, of course. That was a stupid question. GEEZ! Don't you know me by now?

*I wanted to see you again, Axel,* I thought. *It's been over a year...you said we'd be together again soon. Soon wasn't supposed to be a year, now was it? Please Axel, I missed you so much. I'd give anything to be with you. ...I know that sounds super cheesy, but it's really true.*

A sudden noise interrupted my thoughts. It sounded like someone was in the mansion!

"Who's there?" I hissed, jumping out of bed, gun in-hand.

Nothing. No reply. I frowned and listened closely. *There!* I heard it again!

"Who's there? I heard you twice now, so don't run!"

A man in a black Organization robe appeared before me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"A nothing," the man replied in a deep voice. "I'm nobody. Pay me no mind."

"Right. But you're snooping around because...?"

"I...I wanted to see my friend."

"Who?" The man removed his hood.

"Sora."

I gasped and dropped my gun. It...couldn't... Why was he in THIS form?!

"...Riku?"

The man I believed to be Riku disappeared. I dropped to my knees. NO WAY! Why was he Xehanort?!

I then thought of DiZ, and it hit me like a ton of flying elephants (which would be about equal to one flying elephant, by the way). It was probably his doing...or at least, _he_ gave Riku the idea. Great. Riku was with DiZ. DiZ was still going at it.

"What else can you ruin?" I whispered, picking up my gun again.

Would DiZ be pleased with what I'd accomplished so far? Yes and no.

Yes, because I had torn apart Castle Oblivion and gotten rid of three out of six of his traitors. No, because at the same time, I was working for Axel. More than anything, I wanted to be with Axel. Then again, DiZ was practically my father. I couldn't just disobey him and expect to get away with it. It would be an uncomfortable meeting when we saw each other again, I decided. Speaking of meetings...

"Nnnn...."

I got to my feet and saw Naminé stirring.

"...What......how did I wake up?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. I shrugged and looked around. "Oh, I suppose you want to go see Axel now, right?" I nodded eagerly. "Well, wait until after you eat. You'll need you strength. There are all sorts of Nobodies around. After breakfast I'll open a portal for you to use. It's safer that way."

I felt a little stupid, taking orders from someone so much younger than me. Nevertheless, I sat down in my bed and sighed. Naminé got up and slowly moved towards the door. Silently I willed her to move faster.

"Nexus, I wish you would stop looking at me with those puupy dog eyes," Naminé said, giggling.

"Well, you'd know how I feel if you were in my place," I responded, braiding a strand of my hair.

"I suppose. I guess you really miss him, huh?"

"Yeah. He was-and is-my partner. It's like taking someone's arms off and asking them to do a chin-up. It's nearly impossible."

"...You realize he can't _feel_ that, though, right?" I nodded, tears clinging to my bottom lashes. I quickly unbraided my hair while skillfully wiping away the tears. Naminé said nothing. I was grateful.

"I know that," I finally said, smiling a little, "but it doesn't change me. I believe there's hope, somehow, in some way."

"Take it from me, Nex," Naminé said, turning to face me. "The only probable way for a Nobody to get a heart is from Kingdom Hearts."

"Key word there is probable, Naminé. Anything can happen."

"...Hungry?"

"Starved!"

*~*~*

"Nexus, I ask that you be extra careful. DiZ is already made at me," Naminé said. I nodded.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan. You send me there. Axel will bring me back. As long as you stay here and don't come looking for me, it'll be fine." I silently prayed Axel would come back with me to stay, but that was unlikely. However, it was worth a shot!

"That's fine. If you get the chance, say hello to Roxas for me."

I smiled, nodding again. "Sure thing. Thank you so much, Naminé. I'll find some way to pay you back."

"No problem. Goodbye, Nexus."

"See you."

Naminé opened a portal, and, taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.


	2. Chapter 2: It's You

Chapter 2: It's You... (double-u x3 . youtube . com/watch?v=OppGONq_dw4)

Memo: I love this part. I had fun writing it. I was doodling one day in English and I drew Nexus and made her blushing and all wide-eyed and I labeled it "It's You...", so it's kind of the title's inspiration.

Nexus' PoV

The town I stepped into was beautiful. The sky was lit with the colors of the sunset. Sure, I could see this from the mansion, but in person, it was aweinspiring. The streets were lined with colorful shops with random items. Anything you could think of, really. There were a few posters advertising something called the "Struggle Tournament." It sounded like fun. Anyway, there were people running around and on skateboards and... Well, to tell you the truth, I felt out of place, what with my black and hot pink hair and my black robe and my side bangs.

Suddenly the town was way quiet. Did they all see me and run away? I wondered. No noises came from around me. I inhaled slowly. It was as if everyone had just disappeared. Exhaling sharply, I started to walk around. Not to any particular place yet. Just anywhere. After all, I didn't have a lead. Yet.

"Roxas!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. I recognized that voice!!

"Axel?" I whispered, running toward the voice. My heart was pounding in my ears.

"Roxas!"

My heart pounded harder, but this time in fear. I knew that voice, too.

"Ansem the Wise...DiZ..."

*~*~*

Nexus sprinted into an open area. It appeared to be an arena. Maybe it was where the Struggle Tournament was being held, she thought. Three men stood there, and although she only recognized two of them, the third she could easily guess the identity of. After all, he looked a lot like his other.

"Axel!" she shouted, running toward him, out of breath.

"Nexus?!" he said, eyes wide with shock.

"Roxas...?" she said. Roxas held his head in his hands and dropped to his knees.

"Hayner, Pence, Olette...HAYNER! PENCE! OLETTE!" he shouted, collapsing. Time seemed to freeze as DiZ, Nexus, and Axel looked at each other in disbelief.

"Nexus," DiZ said sternly. Nexus shuddered but stood her ground.

"D-DiZ," she sputtered, clenching her fists. Axel looked back and forth between them. He knew her; she knew him. He remembered her. Didn't he hate her? He knew she hated him. (...too many pronouns...)

"Nex, what's going on here?" Axel asked quietly.

"Axel, I-"

"Nexus, where exactly do your loyalties lie?" DiZ added.

"_WHAT_?!" Axel screeched. Nexus gasped a little.

"Please, Axel, let me-"

"You were working for HIM!?" Axel shook his head quickly, as if trying to erase the possibility from his mind. "You-of all people!"

"Wait, Axel-"

"Liar! That's what you are, Nexus! A double-crossing, using, heartless LIAR!!"

Nexus gasped, trying to hold back tears. Not him, too, she thought. He was all she had.

"Axel, you can't-"

"JUST SHUT UP! I can't believe I actually thought you were my friend! I hope I never see you again! I hope you--!"

Growling, Axel disappeared into a portal. Nexus stood in silence for a moment, then narrowed her eyes at DiZ.

"Why didn't you help me?!" she screamed.

"This is _your _mission, Nexus, not mine," DiZ replied rather calmly.

"Oh, cut the crap! Don't you see he's...."

"He's what, Nexus? Your 'partner'?"

"SHUT UP!" Nexus wailed. "You never liked me! Never! Always Sune, right? Well, I finally got a friend who likes _me_, and now he's gone, too! The only one who knows and likes me! NOT Sune!" Nexus swallowed hard. "He is my partner. I told him I'd help with Roxas if he helped me. And I'm not breaking my promise. No, I'm not like YOU!"

Nexus let out a sob and ran off before DiZ could respond. She didn't really know where she was going. Where was she supposed to go, though? Axel was her only way home.

*This can't be happening,* she thought, growing light-headed. *This is a dream. Yeah, it has to be. This can't be happening. He couldn't have meant those things...*

Nexus continued to repeat those words in her mind as she ran into an isolated alleyway of the town. Exhausted, she collapsed against the wall. Although she willed the tears not to come, they came anyway. In mass numbers they poured from her eyes.

Nexus' PoV

I sobbed into my hands, resting my forehead against my knees. I could barely breathe, but that was okay. There was nothing left if I died. Axel was gone. I had never ever felt such pain before. Even when Ienzo and the other betrayed DiZ...that was nothing in comparison.

The worst part about all of this was that Axel had basically given up on me. I wanted to explain. That was part of the reason I wanted to see him again. Sure, I may have _started out_ working for DiZ and for my freedom, but my priorities changed when I met Axel. But it was too late. He was gone, and I didn't know where he'd gone off to. Wait, I take that back. I knew where he'd gone; I just didn't have a way of getting there.

"Isn't there anyone who can help me?" I sobbed, hugging my knees.

"Yes," came a very nearby voice.

"Who's there?"

"Oh, Nexus, you don't even recognize the other side of you anymore?"

I lifted my head to see two translucent amber eyes staring at me. _Her_... My eyes narrowed.

"I hate you," I hissed.

"I know."

"...But you've gotta help me."

"I will, but only because we share a love for Axel."

She vanished, and I felt light-headed again.

"Axel...forgive me..."

*~*~*

Sune found herself outside of Nexus' body for the first time in a long time. She twisted a strand of her white hair around her finger and sighed. She felt quite sorry for Nexus, who was lying there, unconcious. The least she could do was to find Axel and set things straight. But she wasn't so stupid to do things that she knew would do HER no good, for this also benefited her. If Axel met her, maybe he'd like her better.


	3. Chapter 3: They Didn't Change

Chapter 3: They Didn't Change (double-u X3 . youtube . com/watch?v=kOoVLp7CR98)

Memo: So I wish I was an experienced animator who could whip up a cutscene of this chapter. If I could create Nexus and Axel in this scene, it would be BEAUTIFUL. *sigh* One day...

*~*~*

Axel sat in his room in the Castle That Never Was. Nexus had gone and betrayed him...a double agent. Then again, that was quite hypocritical of him to say. He was just like her in that way. But at least it wasn't between friends. Saix was hardly a friend.

"Axel?" said a voice, knocking on the door. He recognized the voice. He thought he did, at least.

"Look, I don't know how you got here, Nexus, but you're wasting your time," Axel declared. "Get out."

"It isn't Nexus. It's Sune."

Axel laughed. "I suppose you think you're clever, using your other name. But I could've sworn you said to NEVER call you that."

"Sune is more than just her other name."

"Is that so? Then prove it."

"Let me in and I will."

Axel thought about it, then sighed. "Fine, Nexus. I'll play along. Although I don't know why I should." He opened the door, then laughed. "You thought changing your outside would..."

At a first look, it simply appeared as though Nexus had gone and bleached her hair and clothes. But then Axel saw her eyes. Instead of that ocean-color he was used to, the girl's eyes were a golden, amber color. She looked almost evil. Not calm at all, but very intense.

"Alright, you win," Axel murmured. "Come in before someone sees you."

Sune stepped inside quickly.

"I am here on Nexus' behalf," she said as Axel closed the door. He started to open it again, but Sune pushed it shut. "No, Axel. You have to listen." He sighed and sat down, obviously defeated.

"Start talking, then," he snapped. "I don't have all day to waste my time."

"Axel, Nexus _was_ originally working for DiZ when you first met her," Sune explained, lacing her fingers as she sat down. "But, as she got to know you, her priorities changed."

"Why me?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you were the only friend she had ever had. Nexus...didn't ever have her own true friends when she was growing up. She never had the chance to, because of me and DiZ." Sune stood up and walked over to the lone window in Axel's room. "You must understand, Axel. You're all she's ever had. Without you, she's lost."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Axel murmured, lowering his head in shame. Why did he always find out things too late? "I really made it seem like I hated her."

"Go find her, Axel."

"Will she even forgive me?"

"She already has." Sune bowed slightly. "I ask to take my leave. It was nice meeting you, Axel. Oh, and I would prefer if you not mention our meeting to Nexus." She smiled sweetly, but to Axel, it seemed insincere. And just like that, she vanished. Axel let out a sigh. He now knew what he had to do.

.........

Nexus groaned and opened her eyes. What had happened? Then she remembered. A sob escaped her throat. She lifted her head and looked around. No one was there. She was alone...all over again.

Nexus pulled her knees to her chest and began to cry again. She cried for DiZ, for Sune, for herself...but mostly for Axel. She loved him so, so much--whether she wanted to admit it or not--and he...would never love her back. That made her feel so sick.

A few minutes later, Axel heard Nexus sobbing. He knew it was her. He remembered it from a year ago. He walked around the corner to see her hugging her knees, her face buried in her arms. It tore him up to see her like that. Though he couldn't feel it, he knew it was sadness. And he didn't like it.

"Nexus," he murmured. But she couldn't hear him through her sobs. "Nexus."

She finally lifted her head, then looked away quickly. Axel frowned and gently reached out and turned her face towards his. Tears streamed down her cheeks silently.

They looked at each other for a while. Nexus seemed to have forgotten his hand was there, and Axel made no effort to move it either. Her lip trembled, and suddenly, she jumped up and threw her arms around him. At that same time, Axel pulled Nexus into his arms. Either way, they embraced each other tightly.

"Nex..." Axel whispered, holding Nexus tightly. She seemed frail to him now, weaker. What had happened...?

"Axel...I'm...so sorry!" Nexus wailed, sobbing into Axel. He sighed through his nose and rested his cheek on top of her head. She gripped his robe tightly, trembling.

Nexus' PoV

I really thought I wouldn't be able to stop crying. We could've been there for hours, for all I knew. Either way, I was so, so happy. It was then I realized how badly I had suffered that past year. When he had said my name..."Nex"...it had felt so...so amazing.

"Nex, if you don't stop crying, you're gonna flood the poor town," Axel said, laughing. I giggled and wiped my eyes as Axel pushed me back.

"I missed you," I murmured.

"I know...I...missed you, too." He gently brushed a tear from my eye. I felt like screaming with joy, but instead I merely smiled. "I'm sorry for misjudging you."

"It's okay; I understand." I sighed shakily. "It's been...so long..."

"A year."

"A year," I echoed, then laughed. "You should see Sora now."

"I'd love to, but..."

My heart sank. He wasn't coming back with me. I pouted a little, then asked, "How's that whole thing working out?"

"...Not well. It's a mess, what with Naminé and DiZ." He sighed.

"...I know me showing up didn't exactly help things, either. But...it'll be alright, Axel. I'm still your partner. I'm gonna help out any way I can!" I smiled brightly.

"Your optimism never fails me," Axel said sarcastically, laughing.

"Optimist? Nah, not really."

"Pessimist?"

"Not really that, either. I guess that means I'm taking the middle ground." In my mind I found myself thinking of Riku and how much I had just sounded like him. Axel must've noticed it, too, because he ruffled my hair.

"Mini-Riku," he teased, smirking.

"Sorry, that answer cannot be accepted into the database. Please try again later." I stepped away, fixing my mussed hair. "First, I am not mini. Second, I am not Riku. I'm Nexus."

"Duh, I knew that." Axel took a step back. "You are taller, aren't you?" I nodded. "But I'm still taller."

"Duh, I knew that," I said, imitating him. He chuckled and shook his head.

"...Still wanting revenge, right?" he asked quietly.

"You betcha!"

"Then come with me." Axel held out his gloved hand, and I took it. He opened a portal and dragged me through it. We appeared in a dimly lit room. It didn't need lights, though. The entire room was white. Everything from the doorknob to the bed.

"Where are we?" I asked, although I had a hunch as to where we might be. I released Axel's hand-*sigh*-to look around.

"Welcome to the World That Never Was," he replied. "Don't you want to meet your co-workers?" He crossed his arms. "You _are_ still 'working' for the Organization, right?"

I nodded. "I just had an important task, so I had to take absence for a while. It took longer than expected, but now I'm back, and I'm glad to be."

"Ooh wow, I like that. Sounds very..."

"Business-like, right?"

"Exactly."

We both laughed, and I felt tingles up my spine. Why did he have to leave for so long...?

"Come on," he said, "let's go."

*~*~*

Nexus and Axel walked through the World That Never Was. It felt odd, Nexus thought, because it was just like Castle Oblivion in some ways.

The first person they came upon was a man with short blonde hair, earrings, and a goatee. Nexus thought he looked like a biker. She didn't know this, but Axel thought the same exact thing.

"Axel," he said in a slight accent, nodding a hello. He then noticed Nexus. "And who is this?"

"Nexus," she said, bowing a little.

"Oh, right. The temp. So you're back?"

"The Organization needs all the help it can get," Axel said in a fake sad tone.

"Especially after last year. An unfortunate event indeed."

"Oh, I concur," Nexus said, nodding in false remorse. "I'm sorry, but you haven't given your name yet. It is?"

"Luxord," the man said, smirking, impressed by Nexus' adult mannerisms. She was totally faking it, let me say.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Nexus. I must be on my way now. Goodbye."

"Good day."

As soon as Luxord vanished, Axel started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" Nexus asked, cocking her head in confusion as to what she had missed.

"You," Axel replied. Nexus smiled a little. "You are _way_ too good at this."

Nexus snorted a little. "He seemed..."

"Stiff? Nah, not really. He gambles a lot, so he tries to make a really good impression on everyone. You and Sora'll take him out no problem."

"Huh?"

"That's half the reason I kept you with Sora, Nex. You can get your revenge without having to be around these kooks all the time."

"I-I see," Nexus murmured. *Not like it makes it any more okay to do.* She glanced over her shoulder to see a man with silvery-blue hair. "Speaking of see..." For a moment, she thought it might be Xemnas, but then he turned his head a little, and she saw a huge X-shaped scar on his face. His hair was too blue, too.

"Oh, that's Saïx," Axel whispered, pulling Nexus away into the closest room. Unfortunately, the room was a sort of supply closet of some type, because there were shelves on the wall, and it was extremely crowded in there. Axel and Nexus were crammed in together; Nexus could feel something sticking into her back. It was pretty uncomfortable.

"If there's one person you wanna stay away from, it's Saïx," he continued, still whispering. Nexus was thankful it was dark so he couldn't see her blushing. "He's only seventh in rank, but he's a favorite. And guess what else? He wants to annihilate me now. Isn't that nice? Though I guess I deserve it."

"Okay, so I'll add him to my hit list, then?" Nexus squeaked, still backed up against the wall.

"Sure, go right ahead. I'll owe you one for that. Hey, I think the coast is clear."

Axel quietly opened the door, then stepped out into the hallway again. Nexus followed, her heart pounding.

"Anyway..." Axel said, walking away. He seemed unfazed by the turn of events. "Shall we continue? It seems like I'm always giving you tours."

Nexus laughed, her hands trembling. She could remember that day still. Suddenly a hand grabbed her around the waist, and another one covered her eyes. She let out a shriek.

"Xaldin, leave Nexus alone," Axel said monotonously. Xaldin, Nexus thought, must be Dilan's Nobody. Great.

"Heh, sorry," Xaldin said, releasing Nexus. She shuddered and retreated over to Axel. "But you know how I love picking on new kids."

"_Kid_?!" Nexus shrieked, stomping her foot. "I am TWENTY!"

"Yeah right!"

"I am!"

Xaldin turned to Axel. "Is she really?" When Axel thought for a moment, then nodded, he laughed. "I figured you were only sixteen or so."

"No, I was nineteen when I died, and I'm still counting my years, buddy. So thaaaaanks," Nexus said, crossing her arms.

"Uh, sorry. Didn't mean to piss you off or anything. Nexus, right? I'm Xaldin. I'll see you around?"

Before either Axel or Nexus could respond with a sarcastic remark, he disappeared. Nexus contorted her face in disgust.

"Ugh. He didn't change," she muttered. "Not one bit."

"Well, suck it up, because here comes the vice," Axel whispered.

Nexus turned to see an older man with an eyepatch. All the air in her lungs escaped in a gasp. She recognized him as Braig...but what his Nobody name was, she didn't know. Braig had been the closest thing to a friend to her. Ienzo she thought of as her best friend overall, but Braig was _sort _of true blue. He taught her how to shoot like a pro. Heck, he even had the gun handmade for her. He was sure to recognize her.

"Axel, get me out of here," she said, pulling Axel into the nearest room, which, unfortunately, was an even smaller room than the closet from before. It was a storage room, and there was no stuff in it, simply because it was tiny. Axel and Nexus were barely fitting into the room as it was. Even though they were backed up to opposite walls, their bodies were still touching. Oh geez, Nexus thought, this is fun.

"You know Xigbar?" Axel whispered. Nexus nodded, afraid to say a word. He smelled like campfires, she thought.

"I knew his other," she finally muttered. Her nose was less than a foot away from his. And not intentionally, either. Why the h3ll were there rooms like this, anyway? Nexus could hardly breathe because she was a.) about to wig out and just forget all she was hiding and b.) she was claustrophobic.

It felt as if the room was getting smaller to Axel and Nexus. But what they didn't realize was that they were beginning to relax away from the wall and towards each other. Both of them were about to lose what they had worked for. Axel didn't know what was going on. He felt weird. It wasn't an emotion; it was something else. Or...maybe it was, and he didn't realize it.

It was.

And he didn't realize it, either.

Nexus' PoV

I leaned my head against the wall, my forehead beaded with sweat. I couldn't take much more of all of it. I was a claustrophobe, so it wasn't any fun, but I could still hear muffled footsteps just outside the door. Axel's eyes shifted slowly from left to right, as if trying to listen in.

"Axel, I--!!" Axel quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. My breathing became a little erratic, since it was hard to breathe in there anyway. Giving me a stern look, Axel leaned his ear into the door as much as he could.

My head buzzed with exhaustion. It's not that I was out of shape-although that may have been a _little_ true--it's just that...well...why don't YOU try being in a confined place right up next to the guy you're in love with.

My eyes fluttered and I could feel myself beginning to lose conciousness.

"Axel," I whispered, pushing his hand away. "I-I don't..."

I felt myself fall into silence...into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: It Won't Be Long

Chapter 4: It Won't Be Long (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=AeUDW5347No)

Memo: I wuv Demy-chan!! Hahaahahaha...Angel knows how it is, ne? Right then! I found a funny icon thing that said "I swear, If you say 'dance water dance' one more time..." I laughed so hard. Although I love Demy, that is ANNOYING. WAYNE'S WORLD!! PARTY TIME!! OH YEAH!!

*~*~*

Axel felt Nexus fall into him. He gently shook her by the shoulders, then realized it was no good. She was most definitely unconcious. Whoops.

But the person outside the door would not leave. After waiting a few more minutes, Axel finally cracked the door open. He sighed with relief when no one was there. Dragging Nexus out into the hallway, he picked her up and shut the door with his foot. He turned around and looked right into the eyes of Demyx.

"AHH!" they both screamed, stumbling to opposite sides of the hallway.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here, Axel?" Demyx gasped. "You know everyone suspects you!"

"Demyx, have you been out there the whole time?" Axel asked in an irritated tone.

"No. Not the whole time, however long you think that is." Demyx raised an eyebrow at Nexus. "Who's she?"

Suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Hey, I asked you first!"

"I asked you second. Answer me." Nexus pulled out her gun. Demyx whimpered.

"D-Demyx," he said.

"Demyx? That's your name?"

"Yeah."

"Hah, wow. Funny name. Hi, I'm Nexus. We could be friends."

Suddenly Nexus went limp in Axel's arms again.

"Is she your mistress or something?"

Axel fumed. "No. You're disgusting."

"Then why were you in the closet?"

"It's a long story, and we've gotta run." Axel let out a puff of air. "See you around."

"Oh, riiiiight."

Axel growled.

"K-Kidding! See you around, I guess." Demyx disappeared, and Axel followed suit. Only Demyx went back to his room. Axel went to another place.

......

She smiled up at Sora. It wouldn't be long; he'd soon be awake. Then he, Nexus, and his companions would leave. And she, Naminé, could save Roxas and herself.

Suddenly a large figure entered the room through a portal. Naminé gasped, then relaxed when she realized who it was...or, rather, who _they_ were.

"Is she alright, Axel?" Naminé asked, pointing at the limp Nexus in his arms.

"Yeah, I think so," Axel replied, walking over to Nexus' bed. "Is this hers?"

Naminé nodded, walking over.

"Axel...?"

"Huh?"

"Are you staying with her?"

Axel lowered his head. "No, I've still got to take care of Roxas. You know that, Naminé."

"Yes, but...she really misses you, Axel. I mean, you're her every thought." Axel gave her a look. "Don't ask how I know, I just do!" Naminé frowned. "Don't you miss her?"

"Of course I do. More than anything. It's just..."

"Do you care about Roxas more...or Nexus?"

"I-I don't really know," Axel said, brushing Nexus' hair out of her sleeping face.

_I think you do know, Axel_, thought Naminé, walking away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him heave a sigh. _I know you do._

Nexus' PoV

I weakly opened my eyes, unclenching my fists. What had happened back there, anyway? And where was I now? This definitely wasn't Axel's room. Then I realized the sad truth: it was mine.

"NO!" I shrieked, throwing my arms around Axel's skinny waist. "Y-you can't leave again! Please!"

"Nexus, I-" Axel struggled to free himself from me, but I was NOT going down without a fight. "You know I can't stay!"

"Yes you can, _please_! I wailed, tears thick in my voice. "Please, just let me come with you, or stay here, or SOMETHING!"

"Nexus-"

"PLEASE!" I started to cry, but I didn't loosen my grip. "Please...please..."

"Nex, you know I can't," Axel murmured, trying his hardest to pry me away. "Don't make this hard."

"Why should you care?! You're a Nobody; you don't even _have_ feelings!!" I shrieked, pulling away.

"Either way you're still my friend!" Axel grabbed my hands in his. "It won't be long, Nex. I know you've been stuck here waiting, but it won't be long." I lowered my head; he said it wouldn't take long, but that's what he said last time. I couldn't let him go...he didn't understand. "I'll see you again. I promise..." That wasn't enough. He didn't get it! "Nex, are you even listening to me?"

In one swift motion, I wrenched my hands away and jumped off of the bed. I stared at Axel angrily for a moment, then I started to run away. I could swear that I hated him right then. He was leaving me alone..._again_.

"Nexus?! Nexus!! Nex!..._Sune_!!"

*~*~*

At the sound of her other name, Nexus froze in place. She could practically feel her heart breaking.

_Not now! _she thought. _Not NOW!_

But it was no use. Nexus fell to the ground. Axel gasped and ran over to her, but in a flash of white light, Sune replaced Nexus. He had asked for her, so he got just that: _her_. Her amber eyes flickered.

"Wh-what?!" Axel quickly stepped away.

"_Nexus_!!" Naminé suddenly shouted.

"You little--" Sune hissed, disappearing in a black light. Nexus appeared on the ground in her spot, looking lifeless.

"Nexus," Axel mouthed, touching her forehead lightly. She didn't move. "Nex?"

"Nnn..." Nexus' eyes fluttered, then opened, revealing the ocean color Axel was so used to. Her eyes had a far-off, distant look in them.

"I-I'm sorry," Axel said, standing. "I've got to go." He turned around to look straight into Naminé's look of sheer hatred. "Uh, in a minute, I mean."

"It's...happening..." Nexus whispered, tears clinging to her bottom lashes. She couldn't move; she was too weak.

"Huh?"

"It's wearing off...I...may not be around much longer."

"What do you mean?!"

"Sune...she's coming back again. If she can appear at the very mention of her name..." Nexus shivered.

"What does that mean for you, Nex?" Axel pulled Nexus to her feet and held her steady. Her gaze fell to the floor.

"I...don't know."

This was, of course, a lie. She knew what would happen. She would simply disappear. Time was suddenly very limited. But Nexus couldn't tell Axel this. She couldn't bring herself to.

"I'll miss you," she said, hugging him. "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," he said, hugging her back. "I understand. I'll miss you, too. I promise I'll be back soon. Wait for me, okay?"

Nexus nodded. "But don't go just yet, please."

"Uh, that's...fine."

Nexus felt tears fall down her cheeks as she hugged Axel. She would see him again, right? It would all just happen...maybe it was _better_ to just let things happen.

"Alright," Nexus said quietly. "Goodbye, Axel."

"No, not goodbye. Never say goodbye."

"O-okay...see you, then."

"See you."

And, before Nexus knew it, Axel squeezed her hand gently and left.

"You...have confidence for both of us," Nexus sobbed, falling to her knees. She cried into her hands for a long, long time.

Nexus' PoV

Once again, I was left alone. This time was a bit different, though. There wasn't the guarantee that I'd see him again. I didn't know how much time I had left. Either way, I wanted him to know that I'd miss him.

He had seen Sune.

This was probably the thing that had bothered me the most. So did he like her better? Did he think she was prettier? Nicer? Friendlier?

*~*~*

Axel sighed heavily. He already missed Nexus, just like last time. Sometimes she was the only thing on his mind. Right then was one of those times.

The thing that was really bugging him was the other girl. Sune...her name _was_ Sune, right? Axel felt negatively about her. Something about her wasn't quite right. Maybe it was her eyes that made it seem that way. Nexus' eyes were a beautiful oceanic color, very calm and cool. Sune's were exactly the opposite. The golden color was a little _too_ intense, almost frightening.

But, then again, Sune came off nicer at first. Nexus wasn't exactly one to trust people right off the clock. Sune seemed nicer at a first impression. Axel, however, knew better. He knew that Nexus had been through a lot-he didn't know exactly what, though-of crap. He didn't blame her for being a bit hostile at times.

Personally, I like Nexus better.

And so did Axel.

Nexus' PoV

I sat on the ground in front of Sora's bubble, pondering my future. Nothing was guaranteed. I might disappear again. I might die. I might not ever see Axel again. I was....very afraid.

Sadly, the only thing that could help me at that point was Sora. Naminé had said it would be soon. It wouldn't be long until I left here for good. I had to wonder...would Sora actually let me come along? Would he remember me at all? Would he remember anything from the past year?

Hungry, I walked back to the upper level of the mansion to find the place empty.

"Naminé?" I said, looking around. "You here? Naminé? HELLO!?!?"

Silence...I couldn't take it. I screamed in anger. Naminé had been my only company for a year, almost like my little sister. And now she was gone, too. I knew DiZ was behind it. I knew too well. What was he up to? Why couldn't he just let things be? But...if he had let things be, I never would've met Axel.

It won't be long, I told myself. Only a little longer. Hang in there.

I walked over to my bed and sat down on the horizontal side(aka the short side of the bed), unzipping my Organization robe. Axel had never seen my regular clothes. I was wearing a layered red shirt and brown pants with black and grey shoes. Two matching red beaded bracelets clung to my wrists. Xaldin was right; I looked like a teenager. Not just because of my height, but also because of my clothes.

I leaned against the wall, my legs spread out in front of me and dangling over the side. My eyelids heavy, I pulled the sheets around me and kicked off my shoes. Although I was hungry, I was too tired to care. I shook the bangs out of my eyes.

Hurry up, Sora, I thought, closing my eyes.

......

I opened my eyes quickly, breathing hard.

"A...dream," I murmured, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. "Only a dream...or maybe a sign..oh gosh...I hope not..."

DREAM START

I looked around the bustling crowded streets before me. It was dark, and I couldn't see through all the people. But I knew something: I was looking for Axel.

"Axel!?" I shouted, pushing through the crowds. Then I noticed something weird. Each person I had known from somewhere before.

Before I got to say anything, I heard someone calling my name.

"Nex?"

"AXEL!" I cried, trying to make my way through the crowd. Suddenly Naminé stepped out near me.

"Naminé, where's Axel? Have you seen him?!" I asked. She simply smiled, then faded away. I gasped. Then I saw a younger guy with an Organization robe on. "Hey, you, who are you?"

"It's Demyx, remember?" he said, then faded away. I didn't remember.

"Hey, Nexus!"

I turned to see Sora. He grinned and waved, standing with Kairi, Riku, Donald, the King, and Goofy. They each faded away, one by one.

"Who are you?"

I saw Roxas, who faded away soon after asking his question.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

"Nexus!"

I looked over my shoulder to see the crew. The whole crew. DiZ, Ienzo, Braig, Dilan, Even, Elaeus, and Xehanort...all of them were watching me.

"You guys..." I said as each of them faded away. Then the Organization members I knew appeared and faded immediately after that. What...?

"Nex!"

That was the voice I really wanted to hear!

"Axel!" I shouted, running toward him. There he was, standing there with his bright red hair and two teardrops.

"Hey, I wanted you to meet someone," he said. A very familiar girl with white hair smiled at me. "This is Sune."

"Huh?!"

"She and I are-"

Axel didn't get to finish his sentence. I pulled out my gun and shot her. I shot her. She fell down and died. So I shot her some more. Then I realized my mistake.

"Goodbye..." I whispered, dropping my gun as I faded away.

DREAM END

Why would I have a dream like _that_?! It was kind of violent, really. But was that the extremity of my missing Axel? Was I really prepared to kill anyone to get to him?

"I am," I said, "because...I'm in love." My eyes filled with tears. "And he can't love me back..." My head drooped so that my chin hit my chest. "I'm...actually in _love_..."

Lying down on my bed, I rested my head on my pillow and pulled my knees up to my chin. I didn't know what to do. There was the possibility of my plans in the back of my head working, and that maybe Axel would love me someday. But, more realistically, I might disappear/die before I were to ever see him again. Then what would I do? Or, really, what _could_ I do? Nothing.

I was all alone.

.........

I awoke moments later to a strange noise below. It sounded like someone screaming. Trying not to wig out, I got out of bed and put my shoes on. I went downstairs to check it out. I was ready to take on whatever was threatening my safekeeping.

"Hello?" I said nervously. Then I saw it. Sora's bubble.

It was about to open.


	5. Chapter 5: What's Homework?

Chapter 5: What's Homework? (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=SSJBoeblmlg)

Memo: I wish _I_ didn't know what homework was... Sora is a lucky boy. Nexus, however, didn't get so lucky. *sigh* Oh well. At least I know how many centimeters are in an inch, ne, Gimpy? Haha! I love this chapter because of the dialogue. You'll see why soon. Okay, go ahead and read!

*~*~*

Nexus stood before Sora's capsule, wide-eyed. Suddenly she heard footsteps, so she hid out of sight. To her amazement, Donald and Goofy walked in, yawning and stretching.

"Who's there?" Sora mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Sora!" Donald shouted.

"Sora, wake up!" Goofy added.

Sora's eyes opened and his "bubble" opened up. He stretched out. Nexus cringed as Donald and Goofy laughed. Clothes that small looked almost painful. Sora jumped out of the capsule and grabbed his friends in his arms.

"Donald, Goofy!" he exclaimed. They all laughed and hopped in a circle. Nexus smirked. What a bunch of smurfs.

"That was some nap!" Jiminy Cricket said, climbing up onto Sora's shoulders. He stretched and yawned, then hopped down to the floor.

"You mean, we were asleep?" Sora asked, looking confused.

"I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy."

"When do ya think we went to sleep?" Goofy asked.

"Uhh..." Donald said, tapping his foot.

"Let's see...we defeated Ansem," Sora began, an edge of cockiness in his voice.

"Yep," Goofy said.

"...Restored peace to the world...found Kairi... Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far."

"Then what?" Donald asked.

"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" Goofy added.

" Gee, there's only one sentence... 'Thank Naminé.' Hmm... I wonder who that is?" Jiminy said, reading out of his little book. Nexus was still hiding, waiting for the opportune moment to step in and introduce herself.

Sora, Goofy, and Donald looked at each other and shook their heads in confusion.

"Some journal that is," Donald said. Jiminy gave him a steamed look.

"Well, what do ya say we find out where we are!" Jiminy suggested. This was it; now or never.

Nexus' PoV

"You're in Twilight Town," I said, stepping out into the clearing.

"AH!" everyone screamed. I smirked. Was I really that scary-looking? Sweet.

"Wh-who are you?" Sora asked. I grinned.

"The name's Nexus...so...you really don't remember, huh, Sora?"

"Remember what? And how do you know my name?!"

"Yeah!" Donald shouted.

"Oh, come on, seriously? You don't remember me? Or Axel? Or Naminé? Or Castle Oblivion?" Sora looked even more confused as I went on. "For real? Wow. Naminé knows her stuff."

"So you know who this Naminé person is?" Goofy asked.

"Yup. Can I tell you? Nope. Sorry. Not my choice. Neither is this." I stepped toward Sora and his companions and held out my hand. "I'm gonna come with you guys."

"No you aren't!" Donald shouted.

"Wow, okay, first, you shout a lot. Second, I have to. Orders, man, orders. I always follow orders sometimes."

Sora observed me, crossing his arms.

"Why do you seem familiar?" he asked me. I laughed.

"I don't know. Ask your sleeping memories," I replied sarcastically. Sora looked confused again. I rolled my eyes.

"Who are you, anyway?" Donald said.

"I think I already said, my name is Nexus. Can I add to that? I think I will. I'm gonna help you guys out. You all are my friends. Plus, it's my orders. You're going to need my help, whether you need it or not."

"Oh yeah?" Sora said.

"Oh yeah, little boy!" I then gasped. "Wait, say something!"

"Uhhh, what now?"

"OH MY GOSH!! Your voice is mature!! NO WAY! It seems like just yesterday that you were short and had a castrato voice." I faked sobbed.

"You're really weird," Sora said.

"Thank you! I try." Goofy laughed, and I smirked. "Look, let's get going."

"You're not coming!" Donald quacked. I frowned.

"Yes I am. Aren't I, Sora?"

"Uhhh..."

"Sora?"

"..."

"SORA!"

"Well, I guess so. I mean, if you have orders to...and you seem nice...enough."

"Thank you, Sora!" I shouted, giving him a quick hug. "C'mon, let's get out of here! I've been waiting a year for you to wake up!"

"Really? We were asleep for a year?" Goofy asked.

"Mmhmm! I've been watching over you three-okay, four-ever since then. Apparently I'm your guardian or something like that."

"Who said that?"

"No one but me. But...that's kind of how Axel made it sound."

"Axel? Who's that?" Sora asked.

"A friend of mine. He's your friend, too."

"Uhh, I've never heard of him."

"I know. Just go with the flow. And forget about him. It'll make your life easier." Sora nodded, tapping his head.

"How old are you, anyway?" Donald asked.

"It's impolite to ask a lady her age...oh no, that's weight. Well, I'm twenty."

"Huh?! You're _twenty_?" Sora gasped.

"Yeah, I know. I look younger, don't I?" I crossed my arms. "Can't help it I'm short." Frowning, I looked at Sora. "Oh, you're the same height as me now. NO!" I laughed to myself. "They grow up so fast."

"So are you some sort of stalker?"

"No, actually. I'm not. I'd rather be elsewhere. But my friend/coworker told me to look after you. So I am."

"What can you do to help, though?" Goofy asked.

"This."

I summoned my keyblade, whirled it around, then released it.

"I can do that, too!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade.

"I know. But can you do this?"

I pulled out my gun and swiftly shot the zipper off of Donald's hat.

"HEY!"

"Neat, huh? I wuv my gunny." I giggled and held my gun close. "My precious. Mine. Not yours."

"Okay...you're...weird."

"Like I said, I try. Well, let's get out of here! Come on! I've been here for a year and it's suckin' it up so let's GOOOOOO!"

I ran out toward the entrance to the mansion. Sora and his friends followed me.

"Can you fight?" Sora asked.

"How could I not?" I replied, giggling.

"Then fight me. Let's see if you really can keep up." Sora readied his keyblade and assumed a fighting stance. I laughed out loud, readying my own keyblade.

"Ready when you are, kid," I said, smirking. What a showoff.

Sora lunged and hit his keyblade against mine.

"GO SORA!" I heard Donald shout. Rolling my eyes, I jumped back. We really started to get into it then. He was fighting for pride, and I was fighting for fun, and because he told me to. And maybe a little for pride.

"Hah!" Sora shouted, knocking my keyblade away and into his hand. I smirked as he turned around in a circle and ended up looking straight down the barrel of my gun.

"I win," I said, grinning. Sora dropped not one keyblade, but both. I laughed a little. "Still think I'm not worth taking along?"

Sora shook his head quickly. Lowering my gun, I nodded once.

"Happy to join you. Let's get going."

*~*~* + Fast Forward through walking around.

Nexus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy came upon a small entrance in a back alley. Sora stopped for a moment, crossing his arms in thought.

"You know, I think I've been to this town," he said.

"You have," Nexus replied.

"But I don't really _remember_. It just seems familiar, is all."

Nexus said nothing, instead she sighed and shook her head.

"Let's just go inside," Goofy suggested, putting a hand on Nexus' shoulder. She nodded, grateful that at least Goofy was accepting her. Unlike Donald, who was staring at her suspiciously from time to time. Every time she'd catch him, she shout, "Take a picture; it'll last longer!"

Upon entering the small room, the four companions saw three teenage kids lying around. They looked bored.

"What do you want?!" the blonde guy shouted.

"Uh, nothing," Sora replied quickly. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Just wondering what was back here."

"Now you know. This is _our_ spot."

"Umm..." the chubby guy said.

"What?" Sora responded.

"You're...new around here, right? I'm Pence," Pence said, standing up.

"Hayner. Nice to meet you, but we got stuff to do, so catch ya later," Hayner said, running out of the room.

"What a jerk," Nexus whispered to herself.

"My name's Olette," the girl said, standing as well. She and Pence seemed much more pleasant than Hayner. "Hey, did you finish up the summer homework, yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"

"Homework?" Sora asked. He looked at Donald and Goofy, who shrugged. Nexus slapped her forehead in embarrassment.

"Hey, what're your names?" Pence asked.

"Oh, sorry," Goofy said, smiling. "We're Sora, Donald, Nexus, and Goofy."

"Hey there," Sora said, grinning.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, we just met someone who was looking for you," Olette announced. "But he didn't mention you, Nexus."

"Not a problem," Nexus said, saluting with her right index finger.

"He sure seemed in a hurry," Pence added. "He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears." Pence showed the group what he was talking about; Olette nodded.

"The King!" Donald exclaimed.

"Where'd you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the station."

"The station! Thanks!"

"Well, we'd better get back to that assignment," Olette said.

"Later," Pence said. He and Olette left, leaving the group to themselves in the small room.

"Oh boy! The King's trying to find us!" Donald shouted, jumping a little at the good news.

"Yeah, let's get to the station!" Sora added, running out of the room.

"Nexus, do you know who our king is?" Goofy asked as they ran through the town.

"I do, actually," she replied, smiling a little. "I haven't seen him since I was a little girl, though. I wonder if..."

"If...?" Sora said.

"If he'll remember me." Nexus was actually wondering if King Mickey even knew about her. He had met Sune at the time, not Nexus. Did he and DiZ discuss her condition at all?

"Hey you, where'd you come from?" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

The group turned to see three teenage kids again. One was big and buff, but he looked stupid. There was a girl with short, silver hair. She looked demonic. The third was assumed to be the one who shouted, because he crossed his toned arms, waiting for an answer.

"Uhh..." Sora responded, thinking of what he should say.

"You here to pick a fight with us or something?" he said angrily.

"Fight? We're not here to fight," Sora said, shaking his head.

"We don't even know who you people are," Nexus added, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you big palooka!" Donald shouted, jumping up and down.

"Okay, smartalecks... Time to teach you how to behave in my town. Bring it!" The young man and his friends assumed defensive stances. When Sora and Donald did the same, Nexus huffed an audible sigh.

"What are your problems? Goooosh, you are SO full of it!" she shouted at the teen. "One, this is NOT your town. It's Twilight Town. And unless your name is Twilight, Town, or both, then it's not your freaking town. Two, who the heck _ARE_ YOU?!"

When nobody responded, she sighed and pulled out her gun.

"One moment!"

Everyone looked over to see a short, very stout man headed toward them.

"If you're gonna fight, why not make it a proper Struggle?" the man suggested. Nexus' ears perked up. She remembered that sign from before, when she was looking for Axel.

Axel...

As the conversation between Sora, the man, and the group of mini-thugs carried on, Nexus' mind wandered to him.

She wondered what he could possibly be thinking, still trying to go after Roxas. But, she considered, when you want to help someone you really care about, you don't think. If you think, you must not truly value them.

That's what had happened with this whole thing. If Nexus had thought about it, and not agreed, where would she be? At least now Axel knew where to go to find her if he so needed.

"...exus? Nexus?"

Nexus looked over at Sora, who was shaking her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"You okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah."

"You looked like you were in a trance."

"It's nothing. C'mon, enough distractions, let's go find your king already!" she shouted, running off.

Fast Forward to Central Station

Nexus' PoV

We were right in front of Central Station when suddenly white creatures sprung up from darkness. I gasped a little. I had remembered Naminé telling me about these things. They were Nobodies, but in simpler, weaker forms.

"We've gotta fight!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade. I nodded, pulling out my gun. The four of us split up, taking out the Nobodies as best as we could. But there were so many. Where were they all coming from?!

"...!" I turned to see a Nobody jump on me. "GET OFFFFFF!" Running around, I finally managed to get the thing off of me and shoot it. "MORE?!" More definitely came. Exhausted, the four of us all collapsed in a little circle with our backs to each other. A Nobody made a move toward Sora, and he held up his keyblade weakly.

Suddenly a blur of black, silver, and gold filled our eyes. It was the king. I watched him take out the Nobodies as if it were as simple as saying "how-do-you-do." And so quickly, too! Sora got up on his knees, watching in total amazement, but Donald and Goofy shoved him down.

"Your Majesty?" Donald asked, looking overjoyed.

"Shh!" The King put a finger to his lips. He was dressed like an Organization member, though not too convincing with the giant ears and all. "You gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way." He then held out a brightly designed munny pouch. "Here."

Sora, obviously dumbfounded, took the munny pouch without question. The King wasted no time in making his way to the other side of the town.

"Your Majesty..." Donald repeated.

"The King... Was that really him?" Sora asked, still looking dazed.

"Snap out of it, kid," I said, giving him a good smack on the back of the head.

"It coulda been... Yep, I know it was!" Goofy exclaimed, looking just plain joyous.

"Now we know he's okay!" Donald added, smiling brightly...for a duck.

"..." Sora seemed to be contemplating something. "The King was locked in the realm of darkness, right?" he finally asked.

"Uh-huh," Goofy replied.

"But we just saw him..."

"Yep," Donald replied.

"And if the King is here, that means Riku's here!"

I felt myself frown. I looked away quickly; I didn't want them to know I knew about...him.

"He's gotta be!" Donald said.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku," Sora said. "Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us! What are you two gonna do?" He looked to Donald and Goofy.

"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said, looking a little upset. "Do ya have to ask?" He and Donald looked at Sora with really funny expressions on their faces.

Sora started laughing.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Donald demanded.

"Your face!" Sora exclaimed, doing the typical point-and-laugh.

Donald and Goofy looked at each other and laughed along with Sora. I couldn't help but join them. It was pretty hilarious, after all.

"What about you, Nexus?" Sora asked.

"I...don't really know. It depends on what happens to..." My voice trailed off. I felt really stupid all of a sudden, sitting there, blushing and what not. I quickly jumped to my feet, looking at the ground.

"Who?" Donald said.

"C'mon, is it someone you liiiiiiike?" Sora asked. I looked up and glared at him. "Hah, just kidding. What do ya say, guys? Let's stick together for one more journey."

We all nodded.

"All for one and one for all is the rule, Nexus," Goofy said. I tapped my head once.

"Got it! Let's do it!"

"To...where again?" Sora asked, placing his hands behind his head.

"We hafta board the train!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah."

"Way to go!" I said, ruffling Sora's hair.

"Ow, quit." Donald sighed, looking frustrated with us.

"C'mon!" Sora shouted, running into the station. It was beautiful in there, too. Very nostalgic.

"Wait up!"

We turned around to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette running towards us.

"Hey, Sora," Hayner said.

"What?" Sora replied, looking a little confused.

"Nothing, but..."

"We came to see you off," Pence explained for his friend. "It just seemed like something we oughta do."

"Oh...really? Thanks!" I nodded in agreement. It was pretty nice of them.

Suddenly we heard a ringing sound.

"You should hurry and get your tickets," Olette said.

"Right," Sora said, nodding. He took out the munny pouch the King gave him. I noticed a funny look on Olette's face.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

To my surprise, Olette pulled out the exact same munny pouch. That's when it hit me. Roxas's Twilight Town...these were his friends, and the pouch we had was from that town! But how did the King get it?

"They're the same," Goofy said.

"Yeah," Olette said, her voice wavering.

Sora looked at both pouches, then shrugged it off. "Three tickets please!"


	6. Chapter 6: THANK YOU!

Chapter 6: _THANK YOU_! (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=Zutt5gbCurI)

Memo: Lol, Finally, Sora gets new clothes! Notice that the chapters are getting way longer, right? It's gonna only get worse from here, folks. Start reading, and remember, we were at the station, just bought the tickets!

*~*~*

"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again," Sora said, looking around. He felt unusually sad. But why? He had only just discovered the town!

"Why not?" Donald asked.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions," Nexus muttered.

"You're thinkin' too much," Goofy said, cutting in before Nexus and Donald got into it.

"Yeah, you're right!" Sora exclaimed. But still, he felt like this was such a familiar town to him! Why?! "Okay, let's go!"

Everyone nodded.

"See you later," Nexus said, saluting with her index finger again. Hayner, Pence, and Olette saluted back. She, Donald, and Goofy entered the train, waving goodbye.

"Bye," Sora said simply, standing in the doorway of the train.

"Hey, Sora," Hayner said. "You sure we haven't met before?"

Sora thought for a moment. Come to think of it, they all seemed familiar to him, but he KNEW he had never met ANY of them before.

"Positive," he finally replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," Hayner replied, crossing his arms.

Sora smiled a little, then suddenly felt a tear fall down his cheek. He saw the looks of surprise from the three friends, and knew he had one to match when he brushed it away.

"Huh?" he said, confused.

"You okay?" Olette asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Y-Yeah. Don't know where it came from." For real.

"Pull it together," Hayner chuckled.

"Right... See ya."

Sora waved as he entered the train. He then sat down. He didn't even notice the looks of horror on the friends' faces when they realized he had entered the ghost train.

Nexus' PoV

I watched Sora as he stared out the window. He looked confused...even a little sad.

*Maybe because of you, Roxas,* I thought, closing my eyes.

"You know..."

Donald sat back in the seat when Sora finally spoke. I looked up at him, curious as to what he had to say. He was holding out a blue crystal in front of him.

"I'm sad," he admitted. Then I looked away. *So am I.*

"We'll be back," Donald said, trying to console Sora. I nodded once.

"Yeah. We can visit Hayner and those guys again," Goofy added. I closed my eyes. *Poor Roxas...Poor Axel...Poor-*

"Nexus?"

"Huh?" I said, opening my eyes.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

"Uh-huh, I'm fine."

"You had that look on your face again," he stated, slouching in the comfy seats of the train.

"Sorry, I don't mean to weird anyone out when I do that," I said honestly, looking at Donald and Goofy as well.

"Wanna talk about it?" Goofy asked. I quickly shook my head.

"It's cool, you guys. Worry about Sora, who can't seem to control his emotions," I teased.

"Shut up!" Sora shouted, kicking my shin.

"Ohhhhh nooooooo we're leaving! WAAAAAAAA-"

Sora jumped on me and covered my mouth. I licked his gloved hand, then almost dry-heaved in disgust. EW! His glove tasted NASTY!!

"WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR HANDS?!" I screamed, laughing hysterically.

"EW! YOU'RE _NASTY_!"

Fast Forward Through Their Nastiness

Still Nexus' PoV

"Seriously, though, Sora," I said, laughing as we exited the train. "You really should focus more on hygiene."

"What, are you the clean crew?" he retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I just like clean. Clean equals good." I shrugged and walked away. "I can't help it if I'm always right."

Looking over my shoulder, I happened to see the train just...leave. Ummmm...

"There goes our ride..." Sora said, chuckling nervously.

I nodded, eyes wide. But then I turned back around and saw the huge tower in front of us. It was pretty amazing. Something else then caught my eye. There was a rather pudgy figure standing at the doorway.

"Hey, check it ouuuuut," I said, giggling. I pointed at the guy, and the four of us headed over to "check it ouuuuut."

"What's goin' on?" Donald asked the...thing. I knew it wasn't human.

"I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say," the weirdo replied. He sounded pretty stupid. "Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is--once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"

"A Heartless?" Donald repeated.

"No, he meant a puppy," I muttered, putting a hand to my forehead. Idiots! I was surrounded by them!

"That's right. They're those things that come outta the darkness in folks' hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything!" Um, wasn't Maleficent like...dead? "And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' 'round to a bunch of different worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her. Why am I talkin' to you pipsqueaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is."

"You oughta find somethin' nicer to do," Goofy said. I grinned.

"I concur," I said, nodding once.

"Says who?"

The thing turned around and let out a surprised yell when he saw Donald and Goofy. I, however, let out a groan of disgust. This thing was...was...ATROCIOUS!!!

"Wha...AAAH! It's you!" he shouted, jumping a little. He was so fat and ugly and just plain repulsive that I felt the need to shield my eyes. But I didn't, out of common courtesy.

"Pete!" Donald and Goofy shouted back, jumping as well.

"What are you two nimrods doin' here!?" "Pete" screamed. EWW!! What an ugly beast!

"What are YOU doing here?" Donald said, crossing his arms.

"You know him?" Sora asked, looking almost as disgusted as I felt.

"We sure do!" Goofy exclaimed, sounding a little peeved. "Pete's been causin' trouble for ages! His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped."

"You wanna know how, eh?" Pete said, laughing. "Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world---no, no, no, all the worlds--are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!"

"Maleficent...huh," Sora said, grinning. He winked at me, and I started to laugh. So did he, Donald, and Goofy.

"What are you laughing at!? Why, Maleficent's power is so great--"

"She's toast!" Sora laughed, cutting Pete off.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now," Goofy said, still chuckling.

"Whaddya mean!?" Pete shouted. Donald snickered. Pete's eyes narrowed at us. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"

"Hey, don't look at me!" I exclaimed. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Well..._we _mighta had something to do with it," Sora said, placing his hands behind his head.

"Heartless squad! Round up!" Pete commanded, sounding really angry.

Suddenly Shadows popped out of the ground. I loaded my gun as Sora conjured his keyblade.

"This is really pathetic, you know?" I said, laughing.

"I do know, but if it floats his boat..." Sora said, grinning.

We took out the Heartless literally in seconds.

"You just wait!" Pete shouted. "Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!"

"So, 'mighty' Pete, who lives in this tower, anyway?" Sora asked. I crossed my arms, curious to know myself. Who could afford it? (^_-)

"Oh, ya don't know, eh? Well, it's old Yen Sid. 'Course he's probably a Heartless by now!"

"Master Yen Sid lives here!?" Donald screeched, jumping in shock. Before anyone could do anything else, he ran up the entrance stairs and into the tower. I blinked. Who was this guy? Yen Sid? What kind of name was that? And why did it sound familiar?

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher!" Goofy exclaimed, looking at me and Sora, who were totally clueless.

"Wow," Sora said. "Sounds powerful!" I nodded in agreement. I knew where I had heard the name now. DiZ had mentioned it once before to me when I was very young.

"Let's go, then!" I exclaimed, running up the stairs. Goofy and Sora followed me. Pete just stood there, slack-jawed. Donald was waiting for us when we arrived.

"Hurry up!" he shouted, running up a huge flight of stairs.

"Oh geez," I muttered, following him.

*~*~*

There were nothing but Heartless running around on the upper flights of stairs. Nexus was running out of ammo, so she was using her keyblade. All four of them were exhausted.

"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless! Things haven't changed one bit!" Donald complained, stomping his foot. He held a wizard's wand in his left hand.

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job, then," Goofy said.

"So the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora said, frowning. Nexus placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You guys made a difference, though! You got rid of Xehanort-I mean, oops, um, Ansem." She turned red.

"Who's Xehanort?" Donald asked. Nexus shook her head, her face beet-red.

"Nobody, don't worry about it. You killed Ansem, all is well, or at least a lot better. That guy was in-saaaane."

Before anyone could question her further, Nexus opened a door nearby. An old wizard was sitting solemnly at his desk.

"Master Yen Sid!" Donald shouted, bowing with Goofy. "It's an honor!"

"Hey there!" Sora said, waving a little. Nexus nodded a bit, smiling brightly.

"Sora! Nexus! Show some respect!" Donald shouted, sounding a bit shocked. Nexus immediately bowed, hoping for forgiveness. She half-expected Sora to do the same, but he simply shrugged apologetically. Yen Sid made a motion with his hand; it seemed to calm Donald down some.

"So, you are Sora," Yen Sid finally said in a deep scratchy voice. "Now then, have you seen the King yet?"

"Yes, we did, Master," Goofy replied. "But we didn't get a chance to talk to him."

"Yes...the King has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you three falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared."

"Fantastic," Nexus muttered. "More peril. Just what I need."

"You mean...we have to go on another quest?" Sora said, sounding a little whiny. Not that Nexus or anyone else could really blame him. "I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands." He sighed a little.

"Yes. I know," Yen Sid said. "However, everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands... Whether you will return alone or with your friend... And, whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all is you, Sora."

"I'm...the key?" Sora held out his hand, and the keyblade materialized in it. Nexus stared at it. The one key...

"Chosen wielder of the Keyblade!" Yen Sid's booming voice made Nexus jump. "You are the key that will open the door to light."

Sora nodded. Yen Sid looked to Donald and Goofy who quickly stood up straight and nodded. He then looked at Nexus, who crossed her arms and saluted with her index finger. Yen Sid nodded his approval, then waved a hand over the table, and a thick book appeared. He made it float into the air and spun it toward Sora and the others. It opened and landed at the edge of the table, like it was asking to be read.

"This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey," Yen Sid explained. "Study it carefully. Once you have finished, we will speak of the enemies you will surely confront."

More like already confronted, everyone minus Yen Sid thought.

"Read it out loud so we all can hear, Sora," Nexus said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Alright, alright. Ahem," Sora said, fake-clearing his throat. "'The Beginning'- Each journey gives rise to chance encounters, and each encounter brings forth a farewell. When a farewell leads to a journey, the worlds open their hearts. Those chosen by the light, or ensnared by darkness. Friends who share the same bonds, though their paths may differ. When you doubt the path trod thus far, when the hand you held is lost to you, gaze anew at the heart that once was...for all the answers are within."

"That was enlightening," Nexus said, picking at the skin around her nails.

"'The Interlude,'" Sora continued, seeming rather interested in the book. It seemed so familiar to him. "A long dream. A sad farewell, hanging in the air in that "world between". What is reality? What is illusion? The path chosen by the young boy leads to his memories. When caught in the stream of the days and nights going past, gaze anew at your steps...for there all confusion will end."

"Once again, that was enlightening, but I really don't care. Just hurry up and read the rest of the book."

"If you're just going to make sarcastic comments, Nexus, then why don't you read it?" Sora practically shouted. She grinned.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she replied, snatching the book out of his hands. Inhaling deeply, she then read the next few lines as quickly as possible and with over-exaggerated emotion. "'The Future Story'- Will the day come when this battle, born of confusion, will end? It is different things to different people. Can the reality be that which is hidden? The reason is mere existence. Still, memories can be believed. Be not afraid. Entrust your body to the soothing waves of your memories. By and by, your fleeting rest will be over...and everything will begin. The end." Nexus smacked the book shut and laid it on the table in front of Yen Sid. "Any other questions?"

"But wait a sec--how come the Heartless are still running around?" Sora asked.

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real--and darkness lingers yet in every heart. The Heartless are fewer. But while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them," Yen Sid explained, lacing his fingers together.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed; Nexus only lowered her head. She already knew all this stuff. It felt like the first day of school, where everything is review and going over rules.

"Gawrsh, that must mean...if everybody's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd go away!" Goofy exclaimed. Yen Sid nodded. Nexus huffed a sigh.

"Darkness is in every heart," she said, walking toward Sora. "You even have a faint glow of darkness in you. There are only seven that don't. You know who I'm talking about. So if you want to take people out that have darkness in their hearts-" Nexus held out her arms to the side. "You might as well start with me and end with yourselves."

"But-"

"Unfortunately, she is right," Yen Sid said quietly. He turned to Nexus. "You know quite a bit about darkness."

"I grew up with a researcher. I had better," she stated, crossing her arms again. Yen Sid nodded again.

"Now it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter," he said, waving his hand. An image of Donald appeared near the wall, but then it turned into a Shadow. "If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down! Now then..." Yen Sid waved his hand again, and a Nobody appeared next to the Shadow. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will--be they evil or good--becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The Shadow disappeared. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence--for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse--they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!"

Nexus' PoV

They don't truly exist, he said. I felt like bawling. What do you do with that?! Axel, Roxas, Naminé, all of them! They were all my friends, so did that mean I was practically friendless?

"Nobodies... They don't exist..." Sora murmured. I felt myself glaring at him. Immediately I stopped myself and started picking at my cuticles again. I did happen to notice two more Nobodies appear around Sora.

"Now then...the being you see before you is known as a Dusk," Yen Sid said. "They are the most common form of Nobody. But there are others--some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant! On your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm."

The images vanished, and I felt myself suck in air.

"Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to the darkness. But--"

To my horror--but not surprise, mind you--Yen Sid waved his hand and images of black robed people appeared. One of them was skinny. *Axel...* I noticed Sora, Donald, and Goofy looking warily at the images.

"The beings you see before you now are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies."

"Organization XIII," Sora whispered. He looked immediately to Donald and Goofy, but they shook their heads in confusion. When he looked at me, I lost it. I started crying. "What...?!"

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan. And it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not know. The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he's traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII."

The cloaked figures disappeared, and I wiped my eyes quickly. I felt like such a loser.

"Then I guess we better go find the King first!" Sora exclaimed, ignoring me. I knew he would now; I would get it later on: a rough game of 20 Questions.

"But where could he be?" Donald pondered.

"Well, we won't know 'til we look," Goofy pointed out. The three of us nodded.

"Yeah," Sora said. "And the King must know where Riku is, 'cause the two of them were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Ansem."

*Xehanort!* I shouted in my mind. *It's XEHANORT, not Ansem! Ansem the Wise is still alive!*

"So, before you go, you will need more suitable traveling clothes," Yen Sid said. "Those look a bit too small for you."

"_THANK YOU_!" I shouted, bowing. That took care of ONE problem at least! Yen Sid motioned toward the door.

"Through there, you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll create for you appropriate garments."

"Gawrsh, Sora, you sure are growing fast,"Goofy said, grinning.

"Uh, I guess..." Sora said, tugging on his clothes and chuckling. I giggled.

"You grew, like, a foot in the bubble," I said, walking through the door. The three of them followed me, laughing. In the room were three fairies, one dressed in red, another in green, another in blue.

"Me, you guys, Riku, and the King," Sora said suddenly. "I don't care who this Organization is or what it's planning. With the six of us--I mean, seven of us--there's nothing to worry about, right?"

"Wrong," I said quietly. The three of them shot me a look. I shot them one right back. It was true. Taking down the Organization was going to be hard now that Axel wasn't there to back me up. Frankly, I didn't really trust Sora as much as Axel.

"Well, look who's here, dears! Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" the red-clothed one exclaimed. "Oooh, and who are you, dear?"

"I'm Nexus," I said, smiling.

"Ooh, if you're looking for clothes, you've come to the right place!" the blue-clothed one said.

"I'll do the designing," the green-clothed one declared, shooting a spell at Sora's clothes. They turned a hideous shade of green.

"Oh, that will never do," the blue-clothed one said, shooting another spell. His clothes turned blue.

"Now, now, dears," the red-clothed one said, flicking her own wand. I laughed as his clothes turned pink.

"But don't you like this better?" Green.

"Hold on!" Pink. Sora looked completely helpless.

"Are you certain?" Green.

"Blue!" Blue. The color feud continued. I happened to glance away, and I saw a suspicious looking raven sitting on the windowsill, watching the action. It flew away before I could point it out to anyone.

"Aww, would you just decide?" Sora finally whined. The fairies gasped, then giggled like schoolgirls.

"All right, then," the red-clothed one said. "Together now, dears. And no more squabbling!"

At the exact same time, the three fairies cast spells at Sora's clothes. I crossed my fingers, hoping for the best. When the fairy dust cleared, I gasped.

"Oh wow! Much better!" I exclaimed, bouncing on my toes. It was true. Sora's clothes were now fitting and mature. Mostly black, the outside was covered with zippers and yellow-gold and red designs.

"Oh, my!" Red exclaimed.

"Ooh, it's lovely," Green agreed.

"Oh, yes! He does look very dashing," Blue said, smiling. Sora grinned cockily and summoned his keyblade. I sighed with relief. Now I could look at him without cringing.

"Now, those aren't ordinary garments," Red said.

"They have very special powers," Green added.

"Only the best for the keyblade master," I said, winking. Red waved her wand, and an orb appeared. Sora eyes glowed.

"Take the orb, dear," Red urged. Not that she needed to. Sora quickly grabbed the orb, and it absorbed into him.

"And watch what happens," Blue said, smiling still.

Suddenly Sora was struck with an immense power. In a flash of light, his clothes turned red. My jaw dropped. _I_ wanted clothes like that!! He even had another keyblade in his left hand.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, checking himself out.

"Wow!" Donald quacked.

"Two keyblades!" Goofy said.

"This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as your last," Blue warned. Sora sighed.

"Your garments also have other powers--but you will have to discover what they are as you continue on your journey," Red said, smiling. Sora looked at his keyblades.

"Okay, I'll do my best," he said at last. "And thanks a lot!"

"The other keyblade is a gift from Master Yen Sid," Green said.

"Thank you!" I said, bowing. "You have no idea how happy this makes me."

*~*~*

Nexus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked back into the loft where they saw Yen Sid waiting for them. He motioned to the window, and a gummi ship appeared. Nexus felt her stomach lurch. Sora...driving...a ship...with their lives on the line...O_o

"Hey! It's the Gummi Ship!" Donald exclaimed.  
"So you guys ready to go?" Sora asked. When everyone nodded, the four companions stood up straight in the wizard's presence.

"Now, now, just a moment," Yen Sid said. The four relaxed a bit.

"Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."

"How do we get around?" Donald asked.

"Do not fear. If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."

"Our hearts are connected," Sora said, putting a hand to his chest. Nexus frowned. Was it possible to have that type of connection with someone who lacked a heart?

"That is correct."

"Got it!"

"But be warned. As you proceed... The Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Donald shouted, jumping up and down.

"Life ain't fair sometimes," Nexus said in a country accent. Goofy and Sora laughed with her.

"Now then, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, Sora, Nexus, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting."

"Okay, let's get going!" Sora exclaimed. The four friends stood up straight again.

"Master Yen Sid!" Donald quacked.

"We sure do appreciate the help,"Goofy said. Sora saluted, then gave the wizard a goofy grin and entered the gummi ship. Donald and Goofy did the same.

"Nexus?" the wizard said.

"Yes?" she replied before following Sora.

"Take care of them."

"Right."


	7. Chapter 7: Compliments

Chapter 7: Compliments (double-ux3. youtube . com/watch?v=i1VkceQdxqo)

Memo: Muahaha, very long chapters aren't they? It's a total pain in the rear to type it! I went and found the game script so I just highlight/copy/paste most of it. ^_- Notice that I'm leaving out a few worlds: Atlantica, Pridelands, Halloween Town--well, sort of...and I think that's it...lemme think...Beast's Castle, Land of Dragons, Hollow Bastion all HAVE to be in it, Space Paranoids will be mentioned, but you'll see, Olympus Coliseum I WANT/HAVE to put in, Disney Castle and Timeless River-you'll see, POTC has to be, Agrabah! That's the one I'm also leaving out. I mean, those'll be mentioned, but, well, you'll see. Enough of that! ^_-

*~*~*

"Wow, who are these guys?" Nexus asked, holding two little chipmunks in her cupped hands.

"They're Chip and Dale," Donald replied. Nexus grinned at the two little creatures and set them back down on the dashboard of the ship.

"Howdy, Sora! How ya doin'?" Dale asked as Sora entered the front room.

"It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty: Chip..."

"...And Dale!"

"HAPPY FLYING!" Chip and Dale shouted. Nexus raised an eyebrow.

"I wish I had that type of energy," she muttered, walking over to the windowseat of the ship.

"Yeah, you're so angsty," Sora said, grinning. Nexus shot him a warning look, and he meekly sat down in his pilot seat in between Donald and Goofy. Nexus' stomach tightened. Sora was going to be in charge of flying!?! Underaged, much?

Sora peered over at the map in front of him. "Only one?" he complained, seeing only one world open for traveling to.

"That's no good!" Donald added.

"Neither are you, but we keep you anyway," Nexus mumbled, slumping in the seat.

"Wait! I think it's a world we know!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Whatever you say! Let's go!" Sora shouted. Nexus felt the ship lurch.

"Good gravy, Sora! Are you seriously qualified to fly this thing?!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Why would you need qualifications to fly a ship?" he asked.

Nexus growled under her breath and braced herself for the worst.

"Why don't YOU try it, then?" Sora boasted.

"Okay, then I will!" Nexus jumped up and ran over to the controls. She had seen these before somewhere, probably as a child. "If I'm better than you, I get to drive when I want, got it...memorized?" She had to say it, damn it all!

"Okay, fine," Sora said doubtfully. Nexus smirked to herself and started the ship up, flying out of sight of the tower. She continued to control the ship with poise and great skill while kicking the butts of other threatening ships in the area. Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched, dumbfounded. "How...?"

"When they teach you young, you don't forget, right, Sune?" she said to herself. In her mind she heard the reply, "Right."

Nexus parked the ship as Sora and the others walked toward the door. Sora felt a familiarity about this place they had just landed in. Maybe Goofy was right for once. They might know this world.

When they opened the door, Sora realized Goofy was, in fact, right. The familiar town was bustling with activity. Moogles were flying through the air selling items, and people were at work trying to rebuild the town. Sora knew why; so did Nexus.

"It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora exclaimed. Nexus nodded.

"This is my former home," she said, smiling reminiscently. "Wonder if..."

Goofy interrupted her. "Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now."

"This is the way it looked before the Heartless. Or...at least...it's getting there," Nexus explained, taking a few steps into her old hometown.

"I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay," Donald said, following her.

"...!!"

At the exact same time, Goofy and Nexus looked up to see a small group of Soldier Heartless on the roof of a nearby building.

"Uh-oh. Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'," Goofy said, chuckling nervously.

"Let's go find your friends, Sora," Nexus said, walking away.

"Okay," Sora replied, following her with Goofy. "So, Nexus, do you remember living here?"

"Yep," she replied, not looking at him.

"What was it like?"

"Hell."

Sora stopped in his tracks. "Wait. Whoa, why do you say that?"

"It's nothing," she said, disappearing down a staircase.

"..."

Nexus' PoV

I hated it when people asked me about living in Hollow Bastion. So I answered each question like that. I felt a little bad for being so blunt but...Sora wouldn't understand. Nobody could, I thought. Nobody ever could.

Suddenly a white beam of light flashed down in front of me. I yelped in surprise, stepping back. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around as the beam flashed around the small area. It looked like a scanner or something.

"What's going on?" Donald asked, stomping his foot.

"You DO ask questions a lot, Donald," I said, grinning.

"That's the town's defense mechanism," a voice shouted.

We all looked up to see a girl around seventeen standing on a rooftop. She had short black hair and even shorter shorts. She looked like a ninja.

"Yuffie!" Sora shouted, waving. Ahhh, so this was Yuffie.

Yuffie waved back, then her eyes widened a little.

"Look out!" she cried. I turned around to see a Dusk about to strike at Sora. Pulling out my fully-loaded gun--well, duh, the gun is _still_ my precious after all these years so it's almost ALWAYS loaded--I shot it and it retreated into darkness. Soon we were surrounded. Like that was any big deal. We had five people, if you count the defense mechanism. The Nobodies were gone in no time.

"Hey, you guys!" Yuffie did a flip-jump down to our level. "I see you're still in top form."

"What'd you expect?" Sora asked, thumping his chest. I raised an eyebrow.

"Sora, you were asleep for a year," I pointed out, then realized Yuffie had no clue who I was. "Hey, I'm Nexus."

"Hey there! Any friend of Sora's is a friend of ours," she said happily. I smiled weakly. She was really, really peppy...

"Looks like you're doing okay," Sora said, smiling.

"Well, what did YOU expect?" Yuffie said mockingly.

"Nice!" I shouted. She grinned at me and we hi-fived. Peppy, but witty.

"How are the others?" Donald asked.

"Great!"

"Hey, Yuffie! Have you seen the King and Riku?" Sora asked. I felt my heart flutter uncomfortably. Guilt. It was like...every time he asked that question, somebody was writing "GUILTY" in huge letters all over my forehead. I knew. I was a guilty person. It was a good thing he didn't know yet, I'll say that much.

"Nope." Yuffie started to walk away, toward where the assumed hangout for their friends was. "But I had a feeling I'd be seeing you guys again!"

Sora cleared his throat and straightened himself up, becoming serious. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."

"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked, a huge grin on her face. Sora casually scratched his nose (wtf?) while Donald and Goofy laughed. I just stood there, not knowing what else to do or say. I wasn't there for that...

"Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house." Yuffie waved us on as she ran off. "C'mon!"

She disappeared around a corner. Sora nodded at us and we followed. Not surprisingly, we were stopped by Heartless multiple times. It was weird, though. They were such weak forms...

"This is it?" I asked, pointing to a door slightly ajar. Sora shrugged.

"Worth a shot," he replied, walking in.

Luckily, we were right. Yuffie was inside waiting for us. A middle-aged, blonde haired, way muscular man was sitting at a computer, typing away. A girl around my age was standing there watching him. She had a pink dress on and a long, brown braid of hair. Another man was standing there, too. I assumed he was probably Leon. He had brown hair and wore mostly black.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie shouted, suddenly jumping out from behind the door. I jumped a little. The three people turned around quickly.

"We missed you!" the girl with brown hair said, placing her hands together. I raised an eyebrow, holding back laughter. She sounded...like she was high or something!!

"Well, if you ain't in top shape," the older man said in a country accent. What a hick! I thought. He even was chewing on something like a piece of straw or something...heh, it might've been a pencil.

"I knew it," the assumed Leon said, crossing his arms. His voice was so NASAL. Poor guy! It sounded like he was suffering from the eternal cold.

"Knew what?" Sora asked.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time."

"You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!?"

"All except you," Leon said, nodding at me. "I'm Leon. She's Aerith, he's Cid, and I'm assuming you've already met Yuffie."

"I'm Nexus. You've never seen me before, so don't worry about memories and stuff," I explained.

"Thanks!" Donald said sarcastically in reply to Leon's answer.

"So where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked.

"We were sleepin'," Goofy replied.

"Where? In cold storage?" Cid asked. I glanced at the three of them, expecting a comeback. But all they did was glance at me and each other nervously. Way to go.

"It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!" Aerith exclaimed, clapping her hands a little.

"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King," Sora said, interrupting the song in my head. "Have you seen 'em?"

Leon, Aerith, and Cid shook their heads.

"Right." Talk about never giving up!

"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" Yup, she has to be high. She speaks in short sentences.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Don't go thankin' us just yet," Cid grunted, getting up in Sora's face. Sora backed away slowly.

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon walked forward a little.

"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?" Sora attempted to look over the Cid towering above him.

"And other stuff that's easy to handle?" I added, grinning.

"That's right!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Sounds like you could use our help," Sora said, finally pushing Cid aside.

"Then let's cut to the chase. Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here."

"What about me?" I asked angrily.

"Can you fight?" Leon asked me.

"Yeah," Sora answered before I could. Did I really intimidate him? Awesome.

"So?"

Sora patted his chest proudly. "Like we're gonna say, no?"

Leon chuckled quietly. "...I forgot who I'm dealing with."

"Hey...what do you mean by that?" Donald asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment,'" Aerith replied, smiling. Leon walked over to the door and thrust it open.

"Follow me to the bailey--there's something you need to see," he said, running off.

Before we could follow him, a man with a long, grey beard appeared out of thin air. He was dressed in a simple purplish robe and matching hat. ...Maybe more periwinkle...whatever.

"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" he exclaimed, dusting himself off with his free hand.

"It's Merlin!" Donald exclaimed.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie shouted, grinning broadly.

"Splendid! We'll count on you!" Merlin said happily.

"Right!" we all exclaimed.

"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" Merlin asked Aerith.

"Oh!" Yeah, she probably forgot because she's HIGH! Anyway, Aerith took three cards from her dress. "Here...they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them." She looked at me, frowning a little. "Sorry, Nexus. We don't have one for you. Next time you come, though-"

"No worries," I said, dismissing the thought with a wave of my hand. Sora took his and flipped it over.

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" he read, grinning. What a mouthful...

"Membership cards!" Donald quacked.

"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy added. Donald and Sora nodded; I rolled my eyes. Stupid, if you ask me.

"Hey, thanks, Leahhh...huh?" Sora looked over his shoulder to see the door still wide open. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!"

"Way to go," I said, smirking.

"Oh shut up."

*~*~*

"Just a moment, Sora," Merlin said, stepping forward into focus. "What about your magic? And Nexus, do you know any?"

Nexus shook her head sadly.

"Huh? Oh, that's right..." Sora said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep!" Yuffie suggested.

"Now, what am I to do with you? I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells. But be careful with them!"

Sora felt his hands tingle with a freezing sensation. Well, now he at least had blizzard. He looked to his companions to see their hands glowly slightly...except Nexus.

"Merlin, did you give me the spell?" she asked, knitting her brow.

"Why, yes," he replied.

"Try it again."

Sora could tell by the strange look on Nexus' face that nothing was happening.

"Here, let me try Cure," Merlin suggested.

Nexus nodded, frowning. Nothing green glowed about her.

"Thunder..."

Nothing.

"Reflect..."

Nothing.

"Magnet...?"

Nothing.

"What on earth am I leaving out?" Merlin snapped.

"Fire," Sora said quietly.

As soon as Merlin gave Nexus the spell, not only did her hands glow brighter than any of theirs, but her eyes lit up with something weird in them.

"That one worked," she said, grinning.

*~*~*

"You know, Nexus..." Sora said, walking out of Merlin's house.

"Hm?" she mumbled, looking at him.

"When Aerith said 'Leon compliments,' I thought of how you give your own little 'Nexus compliments.'"

"No I don't. I give insults," Nexus insisted.

"Not always," Donald pointed out.

"Name once."

Sora cleared his throat, and, perfectly imitating Nexus, quoted, "OH MY GOSH!! Your voice is mature!! NO WAY! It seems like just yesterday that you were short and had a castrato voice."

"That's an insult," Nexus muttered.

"No, you were sayin' his voice is more mature, ahyuck!" Goofy said.

"I concur," Sora mocked. Nexus immediately reared back and punched him in the gut as hard as she could.

"My phrase, you eunich."


	8. Chapter 8: Xigbar and the Bird

Chapter 8: Xigbar and the Bird (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=UpkKBbcM0us)

Memo: HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I love this scene here... Stupid old man... You can tell he and Nexus were friends, though. hahaha. Keep in mind Nexus is NOT wearing her Organization robe right now.

*~*~*

Sora, Nexus, Donald, and Goofy finally reached the bailey during an entire argument about Nexus and everything about her that they could find. Luckily for her, she could find a way out of every question except one.

"Look, just tell us what you know about the Organization," Sora begged as they approached where Leon was standing. "You didn't cry for no reason at all."

Before Nexus could say anything, Leon interrupted their conversation. Nexus was suddenly thankful for his annoying nasal voice.

"Look at that," he said, pointing over the edge of the balcony-like area. Sora and Nexus gasped at the sight below them. A huge mass of black was moving around like a sea of darkness. Actually, that was more or less what it was. Thousands of Heartless were swarming. "We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows--maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything-- Except...for that..."

Leon pointed to the castle, then to two white things walking toward the castle. It took only a second to realize they were Dusks.

"...and that."

"We'll handle 'em!" Sora shouted proudly.

"Well, that's good to hear." Leon looked relieved. "So Sora--do you know what's going on, then?"

"There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies."

"And those Organization XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy added. They aren't ALL bad, Nexus thought. But before she could tell them this, a voice rang out in the short silence.

"You called?" asked a familiar voice. Familiar to Nexus, I mean.

The five of them looked around and saw no one. Sora ran out into the open area on the side.

"You're doing well," the voice said again.

"Who's that?!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade.

"What's going on?" Leon asked Nexus.

"It's the Organization's leader," she replied. "This could get ugly."

"This calls for a celebration..."

Suddenly several Dusks appeared by Nexus and Leon. Sora ran over to them to escape within the comfort of the gate, but an unknown force shut it.

"We can't let them get through the gate!" Nexus exclaimed, pulling out her gun from its holster.

"Right!" Leon agreed, whipping out his gunblade.

"A man with a gun; right on!" Nexus said, grinning.

The Dusks were easily defeated, even without the cowering Donald and Goofy's help.

"The Keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands..." The voice spoke again, only this time, laughter from a small group of people was heard.

"Show yourselves!" Sora commanded.

"Ummm," Nexus murmured. But it was too late to run for it; she opted for hiding behind Goofy instead.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy shouted as Xemnas raised his arms.

"Good! Now we can settle this!" Sora cried

"What a shame... And here I thought we could be friends."

The Organization--or what was left of it since Axel and Nexus annihilated half of them--laughed and disappeared one by one.

"Stop!" Donald quacked, running down towards the stairs and right into a cloaked man. "What's the big idea!?"

"Oopsy-daisy!" the man said. Nexus' ears perked up. Could it seriously be...?

"Move!" Sora growled.

"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?"

Nexus gasped. It was Xigbar. She continued to stay hidden, though. She was waiting for the opportune moment.

"I said get outta the way!" Sora repeated.

"As if! You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing." Yup. This was definitely Xigbar.

"Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" Donald shouted.

"See, that would work--if I were just any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing "any old" about me."

That doesn't even make sense, Nexus thought, stifling a laugh.

"Ha! Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!" Sora called back.

"Oh, dear. I think you got the wrong impression," Xigbar said, wagging his finger at Sora.

"You gonna cry?"

"As if! Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"

"Remind me?"

Nexus watched as Sora's angry face became soft, then hardened all over again. Roxas...

"That's RIGHT, he used to give me that same exact look," Xigbar said, laughing.

"Sora, don't listen to him!"

Nexus' PoV

I was really getting sick of Xigbar. I wanted to go ahead and take him out.

"Hey, it's YOU!" he gasped.

"Bet you're not as excited to see me as I am to see you," I said, glaring at him.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you actually alive." Xigbar laughed. "When Xemnas said Nexus, I thought it might be Sune's Nobody--"

"Yeah, yeah, and allllllll you ever cared about was her and your stupid research. Look where THAT got you."

"As if! I've got more authority than ever!"

"Tch. Selfish idiots," I muttered, crossing my arms. "By the by, do you know why I'm here?" I pulled out my gun. "Can you spell 'elimination'?"

"I'd love to see you try!" Xigbar then laughed. "You realize I'm gonna tell Xemnas about this, right?"

"Oh whatever. Tell Mr. Mansex anything you want. He know I'm a fake," I snapped. "I'd watch your own back because you're on my list...and it keeps getting shorter because of all the checkmarks."

"As if! I'd watch out for your so-called partner!"

Before I could respond, Xigbar laughed cruelly and opened a portal.

"NO!"

*~*~*

"NO!" Nexus shouted, running in after the strange Organization member.

"Nexus, wait!" Sora exclaimed. But she was gone. "Well...easy come, easy go. C'mon, let's get going."

"But, uh, don'tcha think we should wait for Nexus?" Goofy suggested.

"Hardly. Do you think she'd wait for us?" Donald said.

Before Goofy could disagree, Nexus suddenly came flying out of a dark portal, screaming. She landed on her butt on the hard ground.

"Oof! Ow...hey!"

She jumped to her feet and made an attempt to chase after Xigbar, but the portal quickly closed. Growling, Nexus stomped her foot. She looked really pissed.

"You little...RRRRR!!!"

Nexus flipped Xigbar--or, more so, where he had just been--the bird, then made another extremely crude hand motion, then stopped and clenched her fist.

"Lemme guess: you're all standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"And you saw me...right."

Shaking her fist at where the portal had been, Nexus suddenly smiled and looked over her shoulder. She looked truly embarrassed.

"Sorry about that!" she said, grinning sheepishly.

"I can't believe you just did that," Sora said, eyes wide.

"Yeah, I know...but I hate that guy."

"That was weird, though. WHO gave him the same look?" Sora crossed his arms, his keyblade disappearing.

"Y'know, I think he was just tryin' to confuse ya," Goofy replied.

"Yeah, you're right. Only one me!" Sora looked at Nexus.

"Hey, don't look at me," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Sora rolled his eyes and pulled out his Hollow Bastion membership card.

"The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member--"

Suddenly the card began to glow. Sora gasped and let go of it to watch it float into the air. To everyone's amazement, Sora's keyblade reappeared and began to glow brightly.

"Huh?" Sora said, cocking his head a little.

"What's this?" Leon asked.

"Gawrsh, ya think...?"

Nexus' PoV

I can honestly say that, for once, I had no clue as to what was going on. I felt a strange sense of innocence. (^^U)

Light flashed from the Keyblade and the card. An invisible wind blew through Sora's clothes and hair as a crown symbol appeared on the ground beneath him. The card revealed a Keyhole and Sora locked it. Man...weird. Maybe it was a gateway, I thought.

"Ohh...now I get it," Sora said, lowering his keyblade. "That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about."

"Oh boy!" Donald shouted, jumping up and down.

"Sorry to run, Leon, but other worlds are calling," Sora said, waving a little.

Leon nodded understandingly. "Organization XIII... They look tough. Be careful out there."

"They aren't THAT bad, Leon!" I exclaimed, grinning. "Nice to meet ya!" He nodded again, smiling.

"See ya!" Sora shouted as we ran off. I looked over my shoulder to see Leon salute us.

.........

"Nexus, do you want to fly?" Sora asked me. I shook my head.

"I'll trust you can learn by example," I replied, sitting down.

"If you're bored, you can go give yourself a tour of the ship."

I nodded and did such. I wasn't so much bored as worried. Talking to Xigbar made me feel uneasy, I guess. I wondered if he knew more about Axel right then than I did.

I randomly opened up a dresser drawer and saw a little black notebook with colored pencils. A smirk making its way onto my face, I opened the book, expecting it to be a diary. But it was blank.

"And now it's mine," I whispered to myself. I had a sudden idea. I wanted to write a story.

Sitting down on my bed, I contemplated what to write about.

"Once upon a time..." I wrote, thinking hard. "......Crap. I can't think of...!"

And then it hit me. I knew what I was going to write. The story didn't have an ending yet, but it didn't necessarily need to yet.

I had been through enough, so who said the story couldn't be MY story?

.........

I think writing that story was the hardest thing for me to do, and yet...when I was writing it, it seemed like everything was coming together. Like maybe...I still had a chance.

Either way, it definitely helped pass the time.

We were about to enter a new world. Sora called it:

The Land of Dragons.


	9. Chapter 9: My Name is Woman

Chapter 9: My Name is Woman (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=o0GonQutmHk)

Memo: Who loves Ayu's song "my name's WOMEN"? I DOOOOOOOO!! And it's so Nex. I mean, fistfighting? Nexus would kick their a's. If I put all my characters together, though, with no weapons, Dylan would kick everybody's rear ENDS! *_* Karate girl...karate girl...8D Oh, and another thing about Nexus: she likes food...a LOT ^^ One more thing: EJ TANAKA!

*~*~*

Sora, Nexus, Donald, and Goofy exited their ship to enter a small bamboo forest. Nexus could smell smoke, like from a fire. Sora thought it was cold. Donald was still wondering why Twilight Town had disappeared from their map. Goofy, as always, was being oblivious to everything.

Suddenly the companions heard a voice.

"Aren't you?"

They exchanged glances with each other, then ran forward a little, slowly slowing their pace. There, upon a large rock, was the black shadow of something that looked sinister.

"A Heartless?" Donald hissed, looking at Sora.

"Let's get the jump on 'im!" Sora said, jabbing his thumb at the shadow. Goofy and Nexus exchanged glances. She wasn't quite sure, but she thought she should probably follow Sora, just to make sure. So when they ran ahead, she followed them.

"Gawrsh, maybe we better look before we leap," Goofy shouted after them.

_Maybe_, Nexus thought, _but it's too late now!_

Sora gasped a little as they ran toward the ominous shadow. A small, reddish, lizard-like creature ran out from behind the rock and into a...was it a man or a woman's...arms. Only Nexus could tell. She knew it was a girl.

"Is that Mushu?" Goofy asked upon entering the area. Nexus turned around and cocked her head.

"Who's-"

"That's right, I know you heard of me!" Mushu shouted, popping up from behind the girl's shoulders. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up!"

"I see..." Nexus said, crossing her arms. She shivered as a light breeze passed through.

"Hey, Mushu! We missed you!" Sora said, waving a little.

"Yeah, well you better HOPE I miss YOU, or else you're--you're...Sora! Donald! Goofy!"

Mushu hopped off of the girl's shoulders and walked over to Sora.

"Do you know them?" the girl asked.

"Know them? Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon! Right?" Mushu leaned against Sora's leg, but Sora moved his leg away, making Mushu fall. When Nexus giggled, he shot her a dirty look, which she immediately returned.

"Something like that. And...you are?" Sora asked, looking to the armor-clad girl.

"I'm Mulan. Um, no, I-I mean..." The girl stumbled over her words. Then suddenly she cleared her throat and swallowed hard. Nexus raised an eyebrow.

"Ping!" she heard Mushu say. She rolled her eyes slightly.

"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked, looking confused.

"Just...Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou," the transexual armor-clad female(?) said. Nexus bit her lip hard to keep from laughing. What an idiot. Why was this chick acting like a guy? She was terrible at it.

"You know Mushu?" Sora asked, completely oblivious.

"Mushu's one of my family's guardians," "Ping" replied.

"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian," Goofy said, looking a little confused.

Suddenly Mushu popped up into view. "Yeah, that's right!" He scurried up back onto "Ping's" shoulders. "And that puts you three up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here."

"Ping" shrugged and smiled nervously. Another falsehood?

"Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!"

Nexus growled under her breath, "I'm NOT a kid. I'm freaking twenty. Twenty. Two and zero. Ten times two...got it memorized?"

"Mushu..." "Ping" said quietly.

"Ah, they don't mind. Ain't that right?"

"I do. I don't have anything to do with this," Nexus complained, folding her arms across her chest.

"And who are you?" Mushu asked. Nexus bent towards the little dragon.

"Hi. I'm Nexus. I have a nice gun, I protect Sora, and I will kill anyone or anything that gets in my way."

She smiled sweetly, then stood upright again and sighed through her nose.

"Hmm, sounds fair, though," Sora said, nodding a little. Nexus felt like falling over. Idiot!!!

"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial army."

Ah. So that explained the transexual thing. But why would it matter? Nexus asked herself. Shouldn't they judge on skill and not gender?

"We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp," Mushu continued, looking over "Ping's" other shoulder.

"Would you join us? It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with guys, like you."

BINGBINGBINGBINGBING!!! _I should've bet on that_, Nexus thought, smirking. So this "guy" was really a girl pretending to be a soldier? What drama.

"What do you mean, 'fit in'?" Sora asked. Here comes the lightbulb...

"Well, um, uh, don't--don't worry about that," Mushu said, nervously chuckling.

"You're pretendin' to be a boy, aren't ya?" Goofy deducted at last. Sora and Donald jumped, looking completely shocked. Nexus simply laughed aloud.

"I knew it. Good call by me," she said, grinning.

"You're a...GIRL?!?" Sora shouted, his voice cracking.

"DUH!" Nexus shouted, shooting him a look. "Your real name is Mulan, then."

Mulan smiled nervously, but in a satisfied way.

"You didn't notice?" she asked sheepishly.

"Uh-uh," Donald said, shaking his head.

"Not me," Sora added, doing the same. Nexus sighed, frustrated.

"But you did," Mulan said sadly.

Nexus' PoV

I shook my head a little. She was so naive, almost as bad as Sora.

"Of course I did; I'm a girl, too," I said as nicely as I could manage. "But if they're making as big a deal about there being girls as soldiers as you say they are, that means no other girls will be there to recognize you. So you shouldn't worry."

A sudden thought struck my mind, and I found myself in a sudden pickle.

"Wait, wait. If we're coming with you, I'm gonna need to have some armor and stuff, too. Got any extra gear?" I asked.

"Actually, you're in luck," Mulan replied, throwing me a large pile of armor similar to her own, only red. "What about your hair?"

"It's long enough I can pull it back into a bun," I explained, looking around the area. I saw a strip of bamboo shoot and picked it up. Fingering it gently, I figured it would work as a hair ribbon for a while. As for my bangs...

I scanned the area once again. _Anything that would work as a clip would be nice_, I prayed, taking a few steps forward.

Suddenly a sharp gust of wind caused a small object to come flying up into the grove. It hit Donald in the face; I definitely laughed. I bent down to pick it up to see it was a doll. It was kind of torn up and its hair was singed, but it had what I wanted.

"Ooooo, a sign from the higher power," I joked, pulling out a black hair pin. Some little girl probably thought this hair-do was the bomb.

Only moments later was I ready to go.

"Can you sound like a guy, Nexus?" Sora asked.

"More than you," I replied, grinning.

"Prove it," Donald said.

Clearing my throat, I prepared myself for getting into my mode. That's right; I could imitate Axel's voice.

"Well, I don't know. You'll just have to give some more thought to who's most important to you. Our most precious memories lie deep in our hearts, out of reach. But you can find yours, Sora," I quoted, smirking.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared at me with wide eyes. I simply shrugged. When you spend a lot of time around someone, you learn to imitate them, right?

"Let's go, then!" I exclaimed, leading the way out of the bamboo grove.

.........

As we walked into the soldiers' camp, I heard Mushu whisper something to Mulan.

"Remember, girl--manly!" he hissed. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mulan attempt to strut into the camp. I rolled my eyes slightly and joined Sora in line. It appeared to be a food line, which made me happy. I was hungry.

Suddenly a short, oaf-like man pushed Sora out of his spot right in front of me, sending him into me, almost knocking me over.

"'Bout time we got some grub," he said in a gruff voice. What a jerk!

"Hey, no cutting!" Sora shouted, growling.

"Get out!" Donald added, hurrying to Sora's side.

Before I could say anything myself, the guy whipped around and punched Sora right square in the jaw. I yelped, then growled.

"WHO THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" I shouted, full-out tackling the jerk. Donald was soon joining me, and for once, we were working together to beat the eff out of this guy.

"Back off!" he shouted, punching Donald back. I just kept punching the guy over and over...

"Uh-oh," I heard Goofy say.

Suddenly I felt myself get thrown off to the side. Looking up, I saw a enormous soldier standing next to a skinny one.

"Hey, a space in line!" the skinny one shouted, kicking me and the guy I was beating up away.

"Heyy!" I whined, getting up. I had to dodge the fat guy.

"I wonder what they're serving for lunch today," he said, knocking the other two soldiers out of the way.

"Knuckle sandwiches!" the original soldier guy shouted, throwing another punch. I was half-tempted to whip out my gun. Oh man, I REALLY wanted to~!!

"That does it!" Sora shouted, taking another hit from the short, stocky guy. He pounced on him and pulled at his hair.

"Let me help!" I offered, kicking him in the face over and over.

The five of us continued to duke it out while Goofy, Mulan, and the fat guy stood on the sides, looking concerned. Forget pretending; girl or not, I was determined to kick this guy's ass!

"Please!"

Oh. No. She. Did. Not.

Everyone stopped and glared at Mulan.

"Please?" the tall soldier mocked, laughing.

"What a girl!" the short one said, joining him.

"Uh..." Come up with something good, I thought, frowning. "Knock it off!"

"Knock WHAT off?" the short one said.

"You punched me!" Sora shouted.

"Cutting in line!" Donald added.

"Being an ass in general!" I growled, remembering to use Axel's voice.

"What a shrimp!" the tall one said. I clenched my fists.

"Who you callin' a shrimp, panda lips?" Mushu suddenly shouted, popping out of Mulan's armor. "I'm a bona fide guardian dragon!"

Mulan struggled to shove Mushu back inside. (After all these years, I've never been able to figure out why she put him there anyway.)

"L-let's just get back in line, okay?" she stuttered.

"Whose side are you on? I just got slugged!" Sora shouted, looking very, very pissed for once. I had never seen him so humiliated!

"Want some more?" the short soldier threatened. Sora clenched his fists again, but a sudden shout caught everyone's attention.

"Soldiers! Get back in line!"

Everyone scurried to get into a spot in line as the assumed captain marched by. Donald took a quick peek to see what he looked like; I decided to as well. He had weird eyes, just like Mulan.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sora waved a closed fist at Yao.

Black spots of darkness caught my attention soon thereafter.

"What are they?" Mulan asked, drawing her sword.

"Heartless," I said, pulling out my gun. Hopefully there's a place with ammo, I thought. I was beginning to run low.

"Oh yeah?" the tall skinny soldier said. He and the other two put up their dukes. I chuckled.

"Ping, I hope you're ready!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade.

*~*~*

After fighting the Heartless, the five companions were introduced to Captain Shang. He was rather impressed with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, in disbelief with Nexus' skills, and was doubtful of Mulan. Since they couldn't simply use a feminine name, Mulan went by Ping, and Nexus went by, of course, Axel.

They also met Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po formally.

Since the others needed Captain Shang to trust Ping, the five of them had to undergo rigorous tests. Of course, Nexus and the others were used to it. Ping still sucked...but slightly improved.

They were given one last chance: the leader of the Hun Army, Shan-Yu, was planning to attack a village. Sora, Nexus, and the others were to clear the mountain trail so the rest of the troops could get through. Once again, it wasn't a problem.

That seemed to do the trick. Shang finally--albeit reluctantly--let Ping join the troops officially. The troops arrived at a small village near a smaller mountain cave. Yes, Nexus got more ammo there, probably more than she really needed, but you know how she is. Anyway... Mushu came up with a plot after seeing Shan-yu on the mountainside to go attack him, but when the five of them went to check it out, they were trapped by the Heartless. Nexus, Sora, and Ping were trapped in the dead end with numerous Heartless while Donald and Goofy were on the other side, blocked by an invisible barrier.

After getting out of THAT mess, another thing got in their way. The village they had just left was burnt to the ground. Their captain was injured, and now I'm going to pick back up. Don't you just love how all the boring stuff got skipped?

"Captain, the enemy! Where did they go?" Ping asked, forgetting her man voice momentarily at the sight of their hunched-over captain.

"They went toward the summit..." he replied, clutching his side. Nexus watched, and--in a flash of horror--she pictured herself in that position...hurt...possibly even dying...where would Axel be then?

"We'll stop them!" Ping growled, standing upright.

"It kinda is our fault," Goofy admitted.

"Right," Ping agreed. Mushu suddenly jumped down from Ping's shoulder and walked away so his back was facing them all.

"You mean MY fault," he said sadly.

"Uh-huh," Nexus said. Sora elbowed her hard. She thought to smack him, then changed her mind.

"Uh-uh!" Donald insisted.

"Shan-Yu and the Heartless did this, not us!" Sora added, nodding. "Captain, if you track down the villagers, we'll handle this."

The captain nodded weakly.

Sora, Nexus, and the others looked up toward the summit. It gave them an eerie feeling, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Let's go," Sora said anyway, and they headed up to their destination.

"Hey, look," Nexus said quietly, pointing out a small brown blur in the distance. As it approached them, they realized that it was actually going up to the summit, and that it was Shan-yu's hawk. They hurried through the deep snow to the summit, where Shan-yu awaited them, seemingly alone.

"Leeeet's get this over with," Nexus said, pulling out her gun.

"ATTACK!" Shan-yu shouted, and the five of them looked at each other, confused. Attack? Who else was there?

The question they all had on their minds was soon answered when hundreds of yellow and black Heartless began to swarm and make their way down the hill.

"Ummm, Sora, should we bail or not?" Nexus asked quietly.

"We can't give up right off the bat!" he replied, readying his keyblade.

"I was afraid you would say that," she muttered, marching up the hill.

"Hey, wh-where are you going?" Ping asked.

"To fight, of course," she said, picking up the pace. Nexus began to full out sprint up the hill, gun in one hand, seafoam colored keyblade in the other.

"She's nuts!" Ping said; Nexus didn't hear her.

"Better get used to it," Sora replied, following Nexus. Donald and Goofy and Ping went their separate ways, as did Sora and Nexus.

Even with Nexus doubly armed, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ping fighting with all their strength, Shan-Yu still made his way down the hill. It seemed hopeless until Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po arrived.

"Stand back!" Yao shouted, shoving Sora and Nexus aside.

"We'll handle this!" Ling added, revealing a large cannon. Yao placed it facing Shan-Yu and the endless amount of Heartless. Nexus and Sora looked at each other, gasping for air. This would settle things...

And then Ping yanked the cannon out of the ground and butted Yao out of her way.

"Sorry!" she called to him, running toward the army. Finally she set the cannon down in the snow, for once, completely aware of what she was doing. The new question was what to light the stupid thing with. "Oh, a flint, flint, I need so--huh..." Her slanted eyes fell upon Mushu, who was staggering through the snow.

"Me? Hey, whoa! Whoa! Wait a second! Ah!"

Without any hesitation, Ping snatched up Mushu and stretched him out. Out from his mouth came amber flames, causing the cannon to light. Mushu somehow ended up on the cannon, riding it straddle-legged. And, in only a matter of seconds, the cannon exploded, shooting off towards the mountaintop.

"You're going the wrong way!" Mushu screeched.

Ping ignored him as the cannon hit its destination and did its job: the mountaintop and an avalanche.

"Yes!" she breathed, pumping her fist in the air ever so slightly.

"Captain?"

With that one word, Ping whipped her head around, focusing her attention at said Captain, who was walking her way with a couple of foot soldiers. She glanced back at the avalanche, then back to the Captain.

Springing to her feet, she shouted, "Look out!" and ran over to him. She would have to outrun the snow in order to have any chance of saving herself and him.

Nexus, on the other side of the battlefield, was already sprinting toward the rock Sora and the others were hiding behind. Despite the deep snow, she wasn't having much trouble staying ahead. She dove to safety just as the avalanche reached the rock.

"Run for it!" Yao shouted at the Captain and Ping. They dashed behind the rocky corner of the mountain, watching the deadly snow rush past them and off the cliffside.

"Thanks, Ping," the Captain sighed when the avalanche subsided. The two of them were sitting in the snow, panting.

"It...was nothing," Ping mumbled, standing. She helped the Captain to his feet.

"I should never have doubted you," Shang added. "From now on, you have my trust."

"Thank you, Captain." Ping nodded a small bow of gratitude, but Shang didn't notice. He was engaged in watching a small red dragon pop out of the snow, and he listened to it grumble out loud.

"First she uses me as a lighter, then she turns me into a cannon ball," it fumed. "The head ancestor's gonna hear about this. You know, that's it ! I give up! I can't take this no more. C'mon, Mulan. Let's quit this charade and go home, girl."

Shang, at first, wondered what the heck the dragon was talking about and who it was talking to, until he heard Ping say, "Mushu!"

"Huh?" "Mushu" grunted. Gasping, the dragon looked at the Captain and quickly clamped his claws over his mouth.

"Mulan?" Shang croaked. "A woman? It can't be!" He turned to Ping, or Mulan, and she held her head low. This couldn't have confirmed it more.

"Ping! Captain!" Sora's voice rang out through the cold, quiet air as he and the others ran over.

"Oh boy, you're okay!" Goofy added when he saw they were on their feet again.

"You all knew, didn't you?" Shang snapped. "You knew Ping was really a woman in disguise."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood there in silence. Nexus sighed.

"Well, shit, if that's how it's gonna be--!" she huffed in her normal voice. Quickly and skillfully, she undid her bun of hair and let it cascade down her shoulders once more. Shang stifled a gasp--TWO women!? And this one, he'd never seen hair like that before...

"Get over yourself," Nexus said. "I'm a woman, too."

"I can't believe you lied to me," Shang croaked, astonished. "The punishment for high treason and dishonoring the Army...is death." He turned his back on the group, and they watched in silence. "Get out of my sight...now. You're all dismissed."

"But Captain..." Sora started, taking a step toward him.

"My debt is repaid," the Captain said evenly, walking away. "The Emperor is waiting! Move out!" he shouted to the remains of his troops. They trudged after him toward the city once more.

Mulan let out a huge sigh as Mushu hopped onto her shoulder.

"Mulan... I blew it," he admitted.

Nexus' PoV

I will not tell a lie: I was really relieved to go back to being a girl. The armor was crushing my boobs, and the whole hair-up thing was beginning to bother me. I hate not having bangs...

"Thank you, everyone," Mulan said when she had also discarded her armor. "Sorry I got you in trouble."

"I'm glad you finally did," I told her with a smile. "I was tired of being a boy."

"Yeah, it's no big deal," Sora added. "So Ping... I mean, uh, Mulan...what're you gonna do now?"

"Go back home," she replied, walking toward down summit.

"You know, your daddy's gonna be steamed as a chicken dumpling," Mushu pointed out. Mulan sighed in reply.

Suddenly Sora grabbed my arm and hugged me to his side, strangling Donald and Goofy on the other side.

"...!!!"

"Relax, we'll take our share of the blame," he said.

"Hey! I didn't even do anything!" I shouted, squirming away from him. "Don't touch me, you little freak."

Sora pouted, staring at me with his big blue eyes. I sighed.

"Thanks," Mulan said, smiling. "You're all wonderful friends."

I thought that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, considering she'd only known us for a few hours. But the more friends, the merrier. It would've been lonely to walk down to the ridge by ourselves. However, we weren't talking at all, so I might as well have been alone.

A screech from above interrupted the silence, and we looked up to see a hawk soaring above our heads. It flew over the summit, and suddenly a hand popped out of the snow, followed by a head that roared. Heartless appeared around the man immediately.

"Shan-Yu!" Mulan gasped as the hawk landed on his shoulder. We ducked down in the snow, watching.

"He's alive!" Sora added in disbelief.

"Maybe he's a Heartless now," I suggested. I didn't think anyone could easily survive that big of an avalanche.

"He's heading for the Imperial City! We've got to warn Shang!" Mulan cried, jumping to her feet. The rest of us did the same, and together we raced toward the palace. We found the Captain just inside the palace walls, and his exhausted troops were behind him. They looked ill, and tired.

"---Shang!" Mulan shouted, catching up to him before the rest of us did. He stopped, albeit reluctantly. "Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!"

"And why should I believe you this time?" Shang growled, irritated.

"But...she's telling you the truth!" Sora whined.

Suddenly Donald make one of his "wak!" noises. He pointed to the same hawk we saw earlier. We followed it straight to a rooftop where Shan-Yu stood triumphantly. Shang gasped as the warrior jumped closer to the palace.

"Guard the palace!" the Captain cried to his troops. "Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the Emperor!"

Yao, Ling, and Chien Po dashed off with a battle cry, but the rest of the troops stopped. Something about them just wasn't right...

"That's an order!" Shang barked, but the soldiers suddenly changed into Heartless, their souls lost to darkness. Ah.

Sora, Mulan, Donald, Goofy, and I jumped into action as the Captain stood there, his jaw dumbly agape.

"Captain! We'll secure the courtyard, and you can save the Emperor!" Sora told him, keyblade in hand.

When Shang hesitated, Donald whipped around and shouted, "That's an order!"

As the Captain ran off, we began to take out the Heartless. It felt good to be out of that stiff armor. I could move around much more swiftly than before. It was good to be a girl again. Mulan looked like she felt the same way.

"The Emperor's in danger!" Mulan shouted when the last Heartless was vanquished.

"No time to lose!" Sora agreed, nodding.

*~*~*

The group finally reached the palace gates to see the Chinese Emperor standing bravely with Shan-Yu's sword to his throat.

"Now you'll bow to me!" the warrior growled with a smile that displayed yellowing teeth.

Shan-Yu glanced at Mulan, who nervously stared back. That display of fear was enough to distract him for a few seconds.

Out of nowhere, Shang came down on top of Shan-Yu, tackling him to the ground. While the hun lay stunned, the Captain helped the Emperor into the palace chambers, while the only three soldiers left, Yao, Ping, and Chien Po, locked the gate behind them. Shan-Yu, getting to his feet, started after them, but Mulan, Sora, and the others stood guard, weapons in hand.

"It ends now!" Mulan said, taking a battle stance.

"Right now!" Sora echoed.

Shan-Yu didn't look intimidated at all. His hawk landed on his shoulder, and his whole body glowed with dark energy. He let out a growly laugh, and soon Heartless appeared at the doors, trying to beat them down.

"Donald, Goofy," Nexus murmured. "Let's guard the doors while Sora and Mulan focus on Shan-Yu."

When they nodded, the five burst into action. Magic blazing, bullets whizzing by, swords clashing...the noise was incredible.

"Ow!"

Feeling a sharp pain on her shoulder, Nexus whipped her head around to see Shan-Yu's hawk hovering by her head, its eyes glowing.

"Change of plans," she said to herself, loading her gun. "I feel like chicken tonight."

With the skills only she and Xigbar possessed, Nexus fired her gun at the hawk and hit it right in the face. Squawking, it fell to the ground, where she shot it once more, ending its misery.

"I can't help but feel a little heartless about that..." she murmured to herself. "...Oh well!"

Returning to her friends, Nexus realized that all the Heartless were already gone, and Shan-Yu had literally just met his end. The beastly man clutched his side and fell over, dead. Mushu jumped off Mulan's shoulders, cheering.

"Now that's what I call burning some hunny-bun! Aw, yeah!" he shouted, bounding around. "Mulan's the best! Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute--I'm the best! Mushu's the best! Mushu's the best!"

His celebration was immediately silenced by the appearance of the Emperor, who wore a stern look on his face. The group bowed immediately.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan," he said, staring at the Chinese woman before him. She bowed again, looking like she might get sick.

"You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated an Imperial soldier." Nexus raised her eyebrows--she had no idea this goody-two-shoes girl would do something like that! "You deceived your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese army, and dishonored your family name."

"We get the picture..." Sora said impatiently.

"You're a young woman. And in the end..." The Emperor paused; Donald let out a sad sigh. "...you have saved us all."

To everyone's shock and utter amazement, the Emperor bowed to Mulan. She gasped, then turned to see hundreds upon hundreds of people cheering and bowing to her from below. Sora cheered for her with his friends, and Nexus couldn't even help but laugh at the irony.

"Your Excellency!" Mulan cried, ecstatic.

"Captain Li?" the Emperor said, motioning for Shang. He stepped forward with Shan-Yu's sword and handed to her.

"Take this, so the world will know what it is you have done for China," the Emperor insisted with a kind light in his eyes.

"Thank you," she breathed, bowing again.

"Mulan," the Captain said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Sora."

"Sir."

"Donald."

"Wak!"

"Goofy."

"Yes, sir."

"..." Shang paused. "What _is_ your real name?"

"Nexus," she replied, pointing to her temple. "Got it memorized?"

He nodded, then murmured, "Thank you." He bowed slightly to them, and the Emperor scoffed.

"'Thank you'?" he echoed. "Is that all there is to say, Captain? If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, China's bravest woman, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that!"

Shang's jaw dropped as the Emperor laughed heartily at his own joke. Mulan giggled as well.

"Can I get an autograph?" Sora asked her with a typical cheeky grin.

"Thanks for everything, Sora," she said, smiling back.

"Now they GOTTA let me go back to bein' a guardian!" Mushu exclaimed in rapture. "They GOTTA!"

"But Mushu, I thought you already WERE a family guardian!" Goofy said curiously.

"What? Oh, no, no---don't even worry about that, that's just real technical," Mushu stuttered. "Just for us guardians."

"I knew it!" Nexus cried, stomping her foot.

"You tricked us!" Sora shouted, scrunching up his face in anger.

"No, no no no, see I did---I just, uh..." With as much speed as he could get, Mushu darted off, Sora and Nexus in hot pursuit. "You know, I just didn't wanna bog y'all down with all a guardian's deeds. See, they're very complex, a lot of fine print. You wouldn't understand."

Suddenly Sora hit the brakes and came to a complete stop right in front of Nexus, who slammed into him, falling on her butt.

"Ow..."

"Sorry." He helped her up. "But look!"

Shan-Yu's sword, which was now glowing, floated up out of Mulan's arms and into the air.

"Another gate?" Nexus suggested. Sora nodded, summoning his keyblade.

"Okay!" Donald shouted when Sora finished opening the gate.

"Guess it's about time to be movin' on," Goofy said cheerfully.

"You shall be missed," the Emperor said.

"Is it okay if we come back to visit?" Sora asked with a small smile.

"Of course!" Mulan exclaimed.

"We will look forward to your return," Shang added with a smile. Sora smirked.

"You two play nice," he said, giving them a thumbs-up.

"Whoa... Watch it, soldier!" Shang gasped. Nexus smacked her forehead. Kids...

Mulan blushed as Sora waved goodbye. She was grinning, though, as was Mushu, who had hidden with her for safety.

"Goodbye, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Nexus!" she said with a smile.


	10. Chapter 10: The Land Behind the Wardrobe

Chapter 10: The Land Behind the Wardrobe (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=Oz7PP0_0q9U)

Memo: JUST LIKE NARNIA!! :D And Destiny Islands...or as Spenser calls it: "destiny's island." :3

*~*~*

The next day, the group walked into another world they had never seen before. Wherever it was, though, it was extravagant. The castle loomed over a bridge that led into a dark forest. But they didn't even get to walk through the forest. They landed at the castle's gates and stepped inside to find it strangely empty.

"Hey, what is this place?" Sora asked. Nexus shook her head.

"I've never been here before either," she answered honestly, looking around. "It doesn't even seem slightly familiar."

"It's huge!" Donald quacked in amazement.

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy added. He had a point; the entire castle foyer was dark.

"I wonder who lives here," Sora said.

As if in reply, a loud roar sounded through the castle, echoing into the ceiling.

"Hey, does anybody else recognize that?" Goofy asked. Another growl soon followed.

"Hey!" Sora cried in realization. "That's the Beast!"

_"The Beast?"_ Nexus wondered. _That's a strange nickname. Wonder how he got it..._

"Maybe we should check up on him," Goofy suggested.

"Look!" Sora pointed to the ground, where the others could barely see a shadow Heartless slinking across the floor. It dove into an ajar door.

"C'mon!" Donald urged them, chasing after it.

"Be careful! We don't know what's in there!" Nexus scolded him, grabbing his tail and pulling him back from the door.

Grumbling, Donald poked his head around the door to find a small parlor that was completely devoid of Heartless.

"Where did it go?" he wondered out loud.

Suddenly Donald noticed a large, red rose sitting in the corner of the room. He had never seen anything so beautiful. Its petals were glowing with such a strange light, he couldn't help but walk toward it.

And then the Shadow popped out to greet him.

"Found it!"

But "it" soon became "them" as many more Shadows appeared. Donald looked frustrated.

"Why be worried? They're just Shadows," Nexus said with a shrug. "Want to make it a game? Let's see who can kill the most!"

"What? That's a stupid idea!" Sora shouted, frowning.

"If you don't like it, then don't play!"

Sora shot a look at Goofy, but he was already killing off Heartless, ignoring them completely. Donald, too, was trying to destroy as many as he possibly could, but Nexus was by far the swifter of the two.

"Nineteen, twenty..." she muttered to herself, loading her gun. She would be needing more ammo at this rate.

"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen!" Donald cried with his thunder spell, quickly catching up.

Nexus' PoV

We'd been fighting Heartless for a while, and while it wasn't difficult, it was frustrating.

"Aw, c'mon!" Sora shouted when another wave popped up. "Enough already!"

"Somebody help us!" Donald shouted.

"You're just saying that 'cause you're losing!" I joked, but he continued to scowl.

Suddenly the parlor doors slammed open, and a horrendously scary-looking animal came in. I turned to Sora, but he looked happy about this. Then it hit me: this was the Beast. He was literally a Beast!

I knew he was on our side when he started wailing away at the Heartless that tried to attack him. Donald and Goofy looked relieved, and Sora--as usual--looked cheerful.

"Just in time!" he cheered, waving at the Beast as he walked by. But the Beast wasn't so kind. Instead he knocked Sora aside--right into me.

"Hey! Watch where I'm going!" I shouted at him, intending to joke, when it hit me that he had just said the same thing. Huh...had I really influenced him that much already? Maybe this journey _would _be fun after all.

Anyway, the Beast did the same thing to Donald and Goofy, then stopped in front of the rose I had seen earlier. Gently, he picked it up in its glass case, and, cradling it like a child, walked away without a word.

"Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy wondered out loud as we all got up.

"With this many Heartless around, something must be up," Sora agreed.

"Maybe it's the Organization..." I added, frowning in thought. I felt like this place had been mentioned before during my stay with the thirteen.

"Why'd he have to do that?" Donald grumbled, walking out of the room.

After stopping to buy ammo and potions from a nearby moogle, the rest of us joined Donald, who was staring at the staircase before us.

"What is it?" Sora asked him, looking through the dim light.

"I just know I saw a lady at the top of those stairs..." Donald mumbled. Now I looked, too, but I couldn't make out anything through the dark.

"Well... " Goofy started. "If the Beast is here in the castle, that lady musta been Belle, right?"

"Yeah, maybe so," Sora replied. "Belle might know what's happened to the Beast, too."

"C'mon! Let's go find her!"

.........

*~*~*

After fighting dozens of Heartless, the party finally reached the end of the East Wing, where a large door indicated a bedroom. Sora leaned against the wall and put a finger to his lips.

"Shhh!" he shushed Donald, who was being nosy--as usual. Goofy, in response, clamped his hands over his mouth, and Nexus "zipped" hers shut as well.

"What am I going to do?" came a voice through the door. It was definitely a woman. Sora nodded and pointed to the door without a sound. The others nodded back.

"Okay," Donald said suddenly, backing away from the door. He sprinted toward the entrance, intending to blast it open.

"Donald!" Sora shouted in frustration as Donald burst into Belle's room.

"Hey! Who opened the door?" Donald shouted when he landed on the plush carpet.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here!"

Sweeping Donald up into her arms, Belle squeezed the duck tightly, ignoring his protests.

"Donald! Sora! Goofy!" she cried, looking out into the hallway.

"Hiya!" Sora said, waving. Nexus peered around him to get a look at this girl. She looked...nice. Nice-y nice. Great.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Donald cried. Belle, realizing she was choking him, set him down as the other three walked in.

"Oh! I don't think we've ever met before," Belle said, looking at Nexus.

"We haven't. I'm Nexus," Nexus replied hastily.

"I'm Belle. Good to meet you."

"Same."

"Where's the Beast?" Donald asked when he finally got his senses back.

"Oh, he must be in the west wing," Belle replied, frowning. "We don't talk like we used to."

"Did something happen?" Sora asked.

"Yes. Isn't that why you're here?"

Everyone looked at Sora, who shrugged. This world was simply one of many on their list of places to go. There was no way they could've known there was conflict.

"Not exactly," Goofy answered for him. "But we can still help!" Donald and Nexus nodded in agreement.

"Since we're here and all," Sora added.

"The Beast won't talk to you?" Donald asked, refocusing the subject.

"He's been acting strange lately," Belle responded, hugging herself. "The only ones who might know why are locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but..."

"Wait a second," Sora interrupted, exchanging disturbed looks with Nexus. "Who locked who up?"

"The Beast locked up his servants," Belle explained.

"But why?" Donald quacked.

"That's what I don't know."

"Hmm." Sora lowered his head in thought. This sounded like their kind of job. "Where's this dungeon?"

"You can get to the undercroft from the west hall. The dungeon is down there."

"West hall. Got it."

"I like how you didn't even ask us if _we_ thought it was a good idea," Nexus muttered quietly. Sora grinned.

"Too bad, you have to come anyway. Aren't _you_ the one protecting _me_?"

"You have to protect Sora?" Belle asked. Nexus nodded. "That must be enjoyable."

Nexus noted the sarcasm in her voice and grinned.

"I _make_ it fun."

Belle grinned back, and Nexus decided that maybe Belle wasn't so bad after all.

.........

"There should be a way into the undercroft around here..." Sora mumbled, looking around.

"Down there, look!" Nexus whispered, pointing.

"It's just a wardrobe," Sora grumbled as they walked toward it.

"Why is it not in a bedroom, then? It's _hiding_ something."

Sora frowned in thought. Nexus had a very valid point.

Gripping the sides of the wardrobe, he began to push it aside.

"Told you!" Nexus cried.

"Here it is!" Sora gasped, shocked.

"Do you MIND!?"

To everyone's utter amazement, the wardrobe--which now had a fully animated face--moved back in front of the door and fell asleep. But Sora was determined, so he slowly moved her away so as not to wake her. When she was completely out of the way, she woke up again.

"And I was just starting to get comfortable..." the dresser grumbled. "May I help you?"

"Huh? What?" Sora stuttered, stunned. "Oh, right--Belle needs us to go to the dungeon."

"Goodness! You're here to help my friends? Well, why didn't you say so?"

Sora didn't respond; how could he without being rude?

The wardrobe went on to explain how she was once human, and so was everyone in the castle at one point, even the Beast. In fact, he was actually a prince. Supposedly a spell was cast over them, but the wardrobe refused to tell them more.

When the party figured they'd heard enough, they continued into the dungeon, only to meet a powerful Heartless. They all had faced worse, though, and the Heartless was dead and gone in no time. Soon, the four were standing in the deepest part of the dungeon, surrounded by household furniture.

"There's nobody here," Sora said, disappointed.

"Except fine decor," Nexus pointed out.

"You mean there's nobody to rescue?" Donald whined. Sora sighed in response, disappointed. Was this not the dungeon after all?

"Did someone say 'rescue'?" came a voice thick with an accent. The four whipped their heads around, but no one was there.

"Shhh! Keep quiet," shushed another. "It might be THEM."

"Oh, they look like nice kids to me," a kind woman's voice responded. Nexus sighed.

"I am definitely not a kid, yo," she shouted into the air.

"Ignore her!" Sora shouted back.

"We are nice," Goofy added, ignoring the two. "We're your friends."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, coming to a sudden realization. "Belle sent us to find you."

Suddenly the "fine decor" came to life, just like the wardrobe had earlier. A clock, a candlestick, a teapot, and a teacup hopped off the chairs and boxes and came to greet the group.

"I'm Sora," he said, gesturing to the others. "Nexus. Donald. Goofy."

Suddenly Donald dove for the clock, scaring everyone else.

"...D-don't touch!" the clock shouted in protest as Donald fiddled with him. "I-I am self-winding, sir!"

"I'm glad you're okay," Sora said to the candlestick, ignoring the duck.

"It is we who are overjoyed to see you!" it exclaimed in rapture.

"What are your names?" Nexus asked.

"I, mademoiselle, am Lumiere. That fine clock is Cogsworth, and this is Mrs. Potts and her son, Chip."

"You're really pretty!" Chip cried, hopping into Nexus' hand.

"Thank you." She grinned.

"Did somebody put a spell on you guys, too?" Goofy asked.

"Yes, that's right! You've heard! It was the enchantress," Cogsworth responded, still being tampered with.

"It seems so long ago..." Lumiere murmured. Chip hopped down and over to his mother.

"It was a cold winter's night..." Mrs. Potts began. "An old beggar woman came to the castle, and asked for shelter."

Nexus' PoV

Later, after the enchanted servants told us their story, we escaped the dungeon using the "shortcut." It really wasn't a significant difference at all...in fact, it might have even been longer. Either way, the servants were really nice. It was obvious they wanted their humanity back. I could relate.

"This is it," I said when we reached the end of the West Hall.

"Correct," Cogsworth whispered, peering in through a crack in the door. "Come, quietly! Someone is there!"

We all poked our heads through the door, listening closely. There was a man in a black coat there--definitely an Organization member. But which one could it be? It was too hefty to be Axel, that was for sure.

"It's time you dealt with Belle," the member said. I stifled a gasp. _Xaldin_... "She's scheming to take everything you have. This castle, your precious rose. And then--your life." He paced around the Beast, who was staring at his precious rose. "Trust no one. Feed your anger! Only anger will keep you strong."

"I've had enough of strength," the Beast retorted, though sounding a bit sad. "There's only one thing I want--"

"What? To love, and be loved in return?" You know, maybe the Beast and I had a lot in common. We both loved someone we didn't think could ever love us back. Though _he_ certainly was better off than I. "Who could ever love a beast?"

As the Beast roared, Sora pulled me inside the room. I blinked. That happened fast.

"See? She has accomplices, and there are traitors amongst their ranks," Xaldin sneered when we entered. I growled. Calling me a traitor, yes, I understood. Calling Sora one? No, not when he didn't even know about Roxas.

Sora, however, ignored Xaldin.

"Hey, Prince!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully, approaching his beastly friend. Haha, pun.

That might've been the wrong greeting to give, because the Beast only roared loudly in our faces.

"Oh dear! Master!" Cogsworth cried, quaking. But the Beast ignored him and swiped at us, ready to fight.

"Just try knocking him into his senses," I told Sora calmly.

"Easier said than done, you know," he replied, grimacing.

*~*~*

"Cogsworth...what happened?" the Beast grunted as he finally came to his senses. It took a lot of throwing him around to do so, though, Nexus realized.

"Well, Master...ah, you see...that is..." Cogsworth stuttered, unable to phrase it nicely. "How shall I say...ah, actually...mmm..."

"You locked up all your servants in the dungeon," Nexus finally stated. There was no point in euphemism now.

"I did what?" the Beast gasped.

"Ah...you did!" Cogsworth replied. The Beast lowered his gaze to the floor, saying nothing.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" Sora then asked, changing the subject. "The one in black?"

"Xaldin...that's his name," the Beast answered. "He came from the darkness... He...used my anger to control me. He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain--and turned it all into rage." He looked at his clawed hands helplessly. "There was nothing I could do... I could no longer see the truth."

_Oo, he would..._ Nexus thought, fuming.

"Well, I'll be," Goofy suddenly said. "That must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt 'em, right?"

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?"

"Sure. We know you're good inside."

"He's right, Master," Cogsworth agreed. "We've all seen how kind you can be. After all... Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to--"

"Belle!" the Beast exclaimed, his eyes widening. He then sighed, shrinking back down. "I've mistreated her... I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

"She didn't say anything about _that,"_ Sora assured him.

"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty... She's too good."

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly," Cogsworth murmured to Sora.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested.

"But--"

"No excuses! C'mon, we'll go with you."

"For really real now?" Nexus muttered impatiently. She was growing tired of running all over the castle.

But it was for real, and so the group headed off to Belle's room, while Cogsworth joined up with his fellow servants. The Beast was a fair fighter, using his brute strength to knock out enemies in a single hit. But he grew tired easily; Nexus figured it to be because of his low spirits. Xaldin could've had that effect on him.

"Master!" the Wardrobe cried when the party entered the room. Belle was not there.

"Everybody's safe now," Donald told the Lady Wardrobe. She smiled, beaming.

"Wonderful! Thank you!"

"Where is Belle?" the Beast asked, wanting to get to the point.

"Why, she left in a hurry," the Wardrobe responded. "Something about going after this...man in black."

"WHAT!?" the master roared. "Why doesn't she do as she's told?"

"Now we have to go looking around even _more_?!" Nexus groaned, slumping over. "I'm soooo hungry!"

"Temper, temper!" the Wardrobe tsked. "Her spirit is what makes Belle so special."

"We'd better go find her!" Sora said to his friends. So they left the room and headed down the stairs to the entry way.

"I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!" shouted a familiar voice. It was muffled, though, so she must've been behind closed doors.

"Belle! Where are you?" the Beast roared.

"Beast! Help! I'm in the ballroom!" she cried.

Sora sprinted over to the large doors, flinging them open as fast as he could. Sure enough, there was Belle, running across the ballroom floor.

"Belle!" the Beast shouted, sounding relieved and still a bit concerned.

"I'm all right!" she cried, dashing behind the balcony's glass doors. Just as she locked, a huge Heartless flew down. Large chains dangled from its round body, clinking as it bounced through the air. Suddenly it sensed the others and decided it might be better to change targets.

"Uh-oh..." Nexus murmured, loading her gun.

The Heartless flew down into the floor, and the scenery changed into a poisoned, dark room fit only for creatures of darkness. The ceiling's chandelier came crashing down to the floor. Sora used the oppotunity to use the Heartless' surroundings against it.

It was easily defeated, but just as they thought the fight was over, the Heartless evolved into a larger, more formidable foe.

"It looks like a doggy!!" Nexus squealed, running after it. "Come baaaack! Come baaaack! I want to ride you, big puppy!!"

Slapping his hand to his forehead, Sora knew that Nexus was probably going to try something really reckless. And sure enough, soon she was riding on the back of the invisible-turning creature, shooting it in the head to try and slow its movements. Sora and the others caught up quickly and beat the shit out of it until it roared in defeat. The ballroom reverted back to normal instantly.

"We did it!" Sora cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"So you think."

Everyone's head whipped around to see Xaldin standing on the ballroom's balcony, still hooded.

"Xaldin!" the Beast roared, running toward him, Sora right behind him.

"Farewell," the man said, disappearing inside a dark portal.

"What does he want here?" the Beast growled, turning to Sora.

"He must be with Organization XIII," Sora replied. "Ever heard of the Nobodies? When a strong-hearted person turns into a Heartless, a Nobody's created, too. See, the Organization...they've got control of all the Nobodies."

"That's right," Goofy said. "And they were gonna make you into a Heartless. That way, they could get that Nobody of yours and have control over it." Sora pointed at Goofy as if to say, "He's got it!" and nodded.

Nexus pouted. "There's more to them than just that," she insisted, but no one paid any attention.

"You're alright!" Belle cried, running across the ballroom, the servants following her.

"Belle!" Beast sighed in relief, meeting her halfway.

"Belle..." The Beast looked genuinely nervous, despite Belle's calm visage. "I-I'm sorry--I...wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you." Belle smiled, which made the Beast mirror it. "Forgive me."

"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologize. But I had hoped...that you might have changed a little bit," Belle scolded him, wagging a finger. "I wish you could start trusting me."

Folding her arms across her chest, Belle frowned at the ground. The Beast looked as though he'd been slapped.

"Oh, I am afraid time is running short," Lumiere murmured.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, leaning toward the candlestick.

"Remember the rose?"

"From the Beast's room?" Donald asked.

"Precisely," Cogsworth replied. "You see, if the master can learn to love, and earn love in return, before the last petal falls..."

"...the spell will be broken," Lumiere finished, his voice low with excitement.

"Really? You think he's gonna make it?" Sora said, sounding doubtful.

"We think so," Mrs. Potts answered, nuzzling her son, Chip.

"Yep, I think you're right," Goofy agreed.

"I HOPE you're right..." Sora said with a grimace.

"Me too," Nexus added, nodding. "He needs all the help he can get."

Suddenly, Sora's keyblade sprung into his hand.

"Another gate!" Nexus gasped happily. She was ready to be moving on.

After the gate was opened, Belle and the Beast rejoined the group.

"What happened?" the Beast asked.

"The gate is open!" Donald cheered.

"Do you have to go?" Belle asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied.

"Now, no more arguin', okay?" Goofy teased the two. Belle glanced at Beast, who glanced back and looked away nervously.

"We'll see to it," Lumiere assured them, bowing.

"Take care, dears," Mrs. Potts said.

"You're welcome here anytime," Cogsworth added.

"If you hear anything about Riku or the King, the Heartless, the Organization--anything at all--let us know!" Sora exclaimed. Belle and the Beast nodded. "Okay, gotta go!"

The four waved goodbye before heading to the ship.

"Bye bye!" Donald said, and they turned to set for another world.

Nexus' PoV

"Huh?" Goofy said when we started the ship. It lurched and started to move, but...Sora wasn't driving!

"Hey, wait a minute..." Sora murmured, surprisingly calm. "Is the ship moving all on its own?"

"Yup! Looks like we're headed toward Hollow Bastion," Goofy exclaimed. I groaned.

"Nope, not doin' it," I declared, heading to my bunk. "You guys go--I'm taking a nap."

Before any of them could protest, I slammed the door shut and flopped onto my bed.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go to Hollow Bastion. Truthfully, I didn't want to go anywhere. I felt trapped. Time was steadily running out. I could feel myself growing weaker. It couldn't end badly.

I grabbed my notebook and colored pencils out from under my bed and got to work.


	11. Chapter 11: Starting Over

Chapter 11: Starting Over (no video this time, sorry...)

Memo: Yes! been waiting for this. Things start really getting more interesting and fun from here! :)

Nexus' PoV

I swear, if I know Sora all of my life, I will never need an alarm clock. His voice is loud and piercing enough to wake anyone up, even me. Well, anyone except Goofy...

Anyway, I remember hearing his voice, and I trembled awake, a piece of paper stuck to my face. We were already in the next world, so apparently my break had been longer than I expected, since I had written some more of my story and taken a short nap.

"Come on, Nexus!" Sora shouted for the trillionth time, pounding on the bedroom door.

"In a minute!" I snapped, pushing myself up.

Suddenly a strange feeling overwhelmed me. I felt weak. Was this journey really taking a toll on my health?

As I walked into the main room, pondering this, I could've sworn I heard a familiar giggle in the back of my mind.

.........

(Still Nexus' PoV)

"Well, this doesn't fit my first impression at all," I murmured, stepping into what was supposed to be Olympus Coliseum. It was not like I expected: not sunny, not happy, but dark and gloomy. In fact, I'd say it was the exact opposite of what I'd imagined.

"Are ya sure this is the coliseum?" Goofy asked Sora, who was looking pretty confused.

"It's that way!" Donald shouted suddenly, pointing up a set of stairs. At the top there was a blinding, radiant light that seemed much more welcoming than the gloom down there.

"Oh..." Sora murmured. "Guess we were a little off."

_It can't be this easy_, I thought. I wish I hadn't thought that.

Suddenly, we heard a woman scream, and we turned to see said woman being chased by dog-like Heartless. It was obvious she couldn't outrun them, but then she lowered her chances when she fell to the ground.

"Heartless!" Sora cried, running toward them. The dogs, scared by our unexpected appearance, scampered off. Sora held out a hand to the woman, but she shrugged him off.

"Thanks, but...I'm fine," she muttered, standing. She gave us a funny look. "And you're supposed to be?"

"I'm Sora, she's Nexus, he's Donald, and that's Goofy." Sora named us off quickly. "We came to see how Hercules is doing."

The woman shot us each a funny, disbelieving look.

"You know Wonderboy?" she said. She sounded bored with the world.

"Yeah, 'cause we're heroes, too!" Donald quacked proudly.

"Ya mean, junior heroes, Donald," Goofy said. Donald waved him away. I didn't have a clue what they were talking about, but this girl seemed to understand.

"Looks like we have a friend in common," she said, pleased. "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg."

"So how's Herc?" Sora asked her.

"Wonderboy? Well, he's duking it out at the Coliseum every day," she replied. "You know, 'a hero's work is never done' and all that. He's ready to drop, but he keeps on fighting. Even Wonderboy has his limits, though. These opponents are bad news--special deliveries from Hades himself..."

"Hades!?" Donald wakked. I assumed he was an enemy.

"Right. Lord of the Underworld. I was on my way to see him. Maybe I can get Hades to give Wonderboy a breather. If anything happens to that kid..."

"Gawrsh..." Goofy said. "Sounds like you're more than just friends."

Meg's face flushed crimson as she stammered, "Oh...uh, I mean..."

"We'll go have a little talk with Hades," Sora offered. Why was he _always_ volunteering us to do things?! "I'd hate for anything to happen to you on your way to see him."

"You really want to do that?" Meg looked unsure. "Well, it looks like you know what you're doing. I guess I'll take you up on that offer. But...let's keep this whole chat-with-Hades thing our little secret, okay?"

"Our lips are sealed!" Sora grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the entrance to the caverns of the Underworld--where we were, apparently. "C'mon!"

"Why do I have to go? I don't even know these people!" I whined, letting him have his fun...for now.

"Wasn't your order to protect me?" Sora teased. I frowned. "What if I get hurt or something?"

"Then I would laugh at you because it would probably be your own damn fault," I answered honestly.

Sora chuckled in response, releasing my arm as we headed further into the Underworld.

"The Organization!" Donald suddenly cried, pointing.

Sure enough, just ahead of us, was a cloaked member running around. Whoever it was, it didn't look like anyone I knew. He wasn't skinny enough to be Axel, but he was skinny enough to not be everyone else I knew.

"Run! Run away!" the member cried as he sprinted straight past us. I still didn't recognize his voice. Who was it?

"Okay...?" Sora mumbled, tilting his head to one side in confusion.

*~*~*

"I'm scared too, Donald," Goofy murmured as the four entered the pathway that led to Hades' chambers. Nexus sighed, shaking her head. Donald was shaking all over, and Goofy really did look afraid. Were she and Sora the only confident ones here?

"Hades, come out!" Sora shouted, his voice echoing all over the place. But Hades didn't appear.

"He must be up there," Nexus decided, pointing to a large room overlooking the area ahead of them.

"Okay, then let's go." Sora led the way, and soon they had reached the entrance to Hades' lair. But something was up.

A man in a fancy red robe, who was holding a giant sword, was trying to fight Hades. None of the four had ever seen him before. He looked like he might be in his forties, what with the small streaks of silver hair intertwining with dark black. Whoever he was, he was obviously losing the fight.

"Get up!" Sora shouted, running in to protect the man.

"What are you doing!?" Nexus hissed from the doorway. "You idiot!"

But soon Donald and Goofy had surpassed her, and she sighed.

"Like I said, it'll be because you're stupid!" she exclaimed, running in to join her companions.

Despite their bravest efforts, they couldn't land a scratch on Hades. Sora's keyblade and Nexus' bullets simply went straight through him.

"Something's wrong!" Donald yelled.

When Sora tried to nod, he suddenly felt light-headed and weak.

"I feel kinda funny..." he mumbled.

"That's right!" Hades exclaimed, amused. "See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes--comes with the territory."

Fireballs appeared in his hands, and he began to charge the group again, but the red-robed man stood in his way.

"Go now!" he shouted to Sora.

"But I've gotta talk to Hades!" Sora insisted. Hades plugged his fingers in his ears.

"What was that?" he asked sarcastically, as if he hadn't heard Sora.

Sora, gritting his teeth in anger, tried to run after Hades, but the man--along with Nexus--held him back. Donald and Goofy got the message and sprinted off. Hades shot more fireballs at them.

"We can't fight him here!" the man insisted. "We have to go--now!"

Nexus eventually yanked Sora out of the room before they got toasted. The second the three entered the bridge area again, Sora and Goofy closed the doors. Everyone stopped a moment, catching their breath.

"Is he gone?" Donald asked.

"Don't count on it," the man replied gravely.

"Huh?" Sora grunted, surprised.

As if in response, Hades popped up on their side of the door, smirking.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

It didn't take much for the five to think to run away. After all, hadn't the Organization member they saw earlier said the same thing? But Hades made it a bit more difficult than necessary, sending fireballs and Heartless their direction. But they were all experienced, and soon they had safely made it into the inner chambers of the Underworld.

"You're really good," Sora said to the red-robed man through panting. He was collapsed on the ground with Nexus, Donald, and Goofy. "Are you some kind of hero?"

"No, I'm no hero..." the man replied, slowly shaking his head. "I'm just an..."

"Huh?" Sora said.

"Auron." Sora and Goofy exchanged looks. "My name."

"I'm Sora," Sora said, hopping to his feet. Donald jumped on his back.

"Donald." Goofy then jumped on top.

"Goofy."

Sora plopped over, unable to hold all his friends.

"I'm the sane one, Nexus," Nexus said, smiling a little. Auron smiled back.

"It seems we were fated to meet," he said. "Maybe you need a guardian."

"Guardian? That's supposed to be _her_ job," Sora said, jabbing his thumb at Nexus.

As the four started to walk away, heading back toward the entrance, Auron chuckled.

Nexus' PoV

"What?" Donald quacked when we got close to getting out. "It's closed!"

Sure enough, the giant door that had once been open to us was locked.

"Come on, open!" Sora groaned, trying to push the doors open again. Um, could he not see it was obviously _locked_?!

For once, though, Donald was useful and pointed out the giant lock to Sora, who summoned his keyblade.

"Will that open it?" Auron asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "I think so."

As he finally pointed his keyblade at the lock, we heard a roar coming from close behind us.

"Hurry!" Auron growled, pulling out his impressive sword.

Just as Sora unlocked the door, a large, three-headed black dog came bounding in. Auron met it head-on, lodging his sword in its teeth. Well, wouldn't you know...we booked it out of there, leaving Auron to fight for himself. But Sora hesitated.

"Uh..." Donald said, watching Sora as he deliberated between running and fighting. He finally took off after Auron. "Sora wait!"

"Shit!" I exclaimed, pacing. "If _he_ dies, Axel's gonna kill _me_!" But there was no way I was going to go fight that thing. Not that I could; there was an invisible barrier blocking us from the fight. "C'mon, Sora!"

Surprisingly, the dog wasn't nearly as formidable as it looked. Between himself and Auron, Sora slayed the thing in five minutes flat.

"Come on!" Donald shouted at them while the dog was lying down, breathless. Sora and Auron hustled over to the door.

"You are DEAD!" I shouted at Sora. "Don't you EVER do that again!"

"C'mon, were you actually worried?" Sora laughed. I noticed he was just a bit taller than me now. He was really growing up fast. "I've fought Cerberus at least twice before. I'm surprised it's still around."

I frowned at him, still angry for making me worry.

"Still, that was fun," he said, grinning as we headed to the Underworld Entrance. "Whew..."

"Huh?" Donald turned around, so we did too.

"What happened to Auron?" Goofy asked. Apparently he had vanished while I was scolding the spiky-haired one.

"He can take care of himself," Sora responded nonchalantly. "Let's go find Meg. Then we can try this again."

*~*~*

"Gawrsh, this sure does bring back memories!" Goofy exclaimed as the four entered the Coliseum entrance. Nexus squinted through the daylight. This was definitely more what she was expecting.

Sora nodded, smiling, and led the way to the lobby, when suddenly a familiar face appeared.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Herc gasped, smiling brightly. "When'd you get here? And who is she?" He asked the latter question rather politely, and Nexus was a little surprised. She determined this must be Hercules.

"Hey, Herc!" Sora said, grinning. "Oh, this is Nexus." Nexus waved once, smiling shyly.

"Hi!" Donald said.

"Howdy there!" Goofy added.

Hercules walked toward Sora, still smiling brightly.

"You on another adventure?" he asked.

"Yeah, trackin' down some friends, wipin' out some Heartless," Sora bragged, obviously trying to sound cool.

Herc seemed to sense, but grinned anyway.

"Junior heroes, always busy!" he said, locking hands with Sora, who nodded.

"You know it!"

The two of them started off toward the foyer, conversing about the past year's events and what not, while the others trailed behind, silently observing.

"So, did you find those friends of yours?" Hercules finally asked when they were all inside the Coliseum lobby area. Meg was sitting there, waiting for them. She looked concerned.

"Still working on it," Sora replied. "When we got here, we ran into Meg--meg-mega trouble, I mean!" Sora shot a sideways glance at Meg; Nexus slapped her hand to her forehead. "So we had to help somebody out. We tried to go teach Hades a thing or two...but the Underworld drains away all our strength. Don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Well, there is a stone that guards against the Underworld's curse," Hercules suggested. "The gods on Mount Olympus use it whenever they have to go down there."

"Think we could use it?"

"Sure, why not! I'll go get it for you," the hero offered.

"Thanks!" Donald said.

"Real nice of you!" Goofy added.

"But Hades is no pushover, even if you've got the Olympus Stone. And I have a match today, so I can't go with you... Know what you need? Training! Why don't you go talk to Phil?"

Nexus wrinkled her nose. "_Training_"? Ick. _Not_ what she needed.

"Hey, good idea!" Sora said enthusiastically.

.........

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Phil shouted as Nexus completed the last round in record time. "Girl, you've got guts!"

"Thanks," she said with a smirk, her keyblade disappearing and her gun returning to its holster. Sora shot her a dirty look. "What, jealous? Of me?"

"No," Sora growled, pouting.

"Listen, I gotta take off for a bit," Phil told the angry teen.

"Where to?" he asked, perking up.

"None of your beeswax."

Nexus laughed at Sora's deepening frown as Phil walked away.

"Hey, cheer up," she said, pulling Sora to his feet. "I used two weapons, remember?"

"Yeah..." He sighed through his nose. "Girls just usually don't beat me at stuff."

Nexus chuckled in her throat. She sounded a bit evil.

Suddenly Sora noticed Hercules returning. He trotted over to him.

"Sorry, guys..." Hercules said, frowning. "The Olympus Stone has been stolen."

"What!?" all but Goofy cried. He was the only one calm.

"By who?" he asked.

"We don't know who did it yet," the hero answered. "All we're sure of is that it was a guy in a black-hooded cloak. And he had accomplices--a bunch of creatures in white."

Donald and Goofy exchanged looks, nodding at Sora and Nexus, who nodded back. The same guy from earlier, it seemed, was still lurking around. Nexus still had no idea which member it was, though...

"Someone you know?" Hercules inquired after observing the silent exchange.

"I think so," Sora said with a nod. "Hey, if we can get the Olympus Stone back, can we borrow it for a while?"

"Sure. By the way, you haven't seen Meg around, have you?" They all shook their heads. Meg hadn't been spotted since before training and Herc's absense. "Oh, okay..." He sighed.

"What's wrong, your hero-ness? Feeling under the weather?"

Hades, out of the blue, appeared by Herc, a hand on his shoulder. Hercules ducked out of his grasp quickly.

"You know, I though staying in perfect shape was part of the hero job description...you know what I'm saying?" the villian added, smirking. Nexus shot a look to Sora and he gasped quietly.

"Oh, right..." Sora murmured, then straightened himself up. "Hades, we gotta talk!"

Hades turned to Sora and flicked him to the ground. Nexus, although angry about that, couldn't help but find it amusing.

"I came to share a bit of mildly-interesting news:..." Hades began as Hercules was sneaking up from behind to land a punch. "Seems your dear, sweet little Nutmeg..." Hades then teleported behind Herc. "...went and got herself lost in the Underworld."

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Hercules growled, whirling around.

"Well, maybe... But why get caught up in the details?"

Frowning angrily, Hercules whistled, and soon a bright white flying horse appeared. It neighed eagerly.

_I've seen everything now_, Nexus thought.

"Uh-uh-uh! You can't leave now, okay?" Hades said quickly as Herc began to mount Pegasus. "You've got a very important match today, against, um... the bloodthirsty Hydra!" Hades crossed his arms, relaxed. "I mean, if you don't stick around, who knows what kind of 'accidents' might happen."

"Yeah, accidents you cause," Sora snapped.

"Like I said: details, who needs 'em?"

"You're just a coward," Hercules declared. The horse whinnied angrily, stamping its feet. Hades shrugged, disappearing in a puff of blue smoke.

"Ah well. Can't all be heroes."

"You know," Nexus said, smirking at where the god had just been, "he's the most interesting villian yet."

"Stop appreciating his evil-ness!" Sora shouted. Nexus grinned.

"Sorry."

Hercules turned to Sora, worried.

"Can you handle this?" he asked his friend.

"You got it! We're heroes!" Donald cried.

"Junior heroes, Donald," Goofy corrected him. Donald shook his head, his feathers obviously ruffled.

"You take care of the Hydra," Sora assured him. "We'll handle the rest."

A bit relieved, Hercules placed his hands on Sora's shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm counting on you," he said. Sora nodded, so Hercules turned to his horse and patted its back. "You gotta find Meg!" he told it, and it neighed and flew off.

Nexus' PoV

Again, here we were in the Underworld, where anything could go wrong. And our welcoming present was seeing Phil wiped out on the ground.

"Phil!" Sora cried, sprinting over to the goat-man. We followed close behind.

"Ooh, ohh..." Phil groaned as he pushed himself to his feet.

_He's fine, we leave_, I wanted to say. But I didn't. I would have to wait to know who the Organization member was.

"What happened?" Sora asked Phil.

"I spotted this strange guy all dressed in black," he replied. "I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know, I'm seeing stars."

"All dressed in black!?" Donald wakked.

"He's the one who stole the Olympus Stone," Sora determined.

"Where did he run off to?" Goofy asked.

"To the Underworld. He's a bad apple, all right," Phil sighed. "And all I wanted was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break."

"Heroes, eh? You could've just asked!" Sora exclaimed, smirking proudly.

"You know someone!?" Phil gasped. Sora summoned his keyblade in reply, and Donald whipped out his staff. Phil looked genuinely amused. "Oh, good one..."

.........

"Man..." Sora complained, rolling his arm around. We had been fighting in horrible conditions for a while now, navigating the caverns even more. "This Underworld curse is really getting to me."

"We've got to get that Olympus Stone back fast!" Goofy agreed.

"We're about to," I said, pointing up ahead. Just up the path, the Organization member stood unmoving with his back to us. "We can jump him now if we're quiet--"

But Donald had already bounded after the man, squaking as he normally does. We followed him and arrived to see the man turning around. He jumped, gasping.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing at--not Sora--_me_.

"_Me_?" I gasped, my eyes widening.

"Yeah! I know you!" The guy threw his hood back, revealing a dirty-blonde, well-styled, wanna-be mullet and eyes the same color as my own. "You're Nexus, right?"

"Y-yeah," I stammered, shocked. He knew me? I definitely didn't remember him... "Who are _you_?"

Well, the poor guy looked pretty insulted.

"You mean, you mean!!" he stuttered. "You mean, you don't remember meeting me? I remember! You pointed your gun at me and said, 'I asked you second. Answer me.' And when I told you my name, you said, 'Hah, wow. Funny name. Hi, I'm Nexus. We could be friends.'"

Sora laughed. "That _does_ sound like something you'd say," he pointed out. I couldn't help but agree.

"You passed out right after that," the man continued. "You were with Axel. Remember?"

"Axel..."

*~*~*

"Axel..." Nexus murmured, trance-like. Just the mention of his name made her heart pound.

"Yeah!" the man exclaimed cheerfully. "Hey, Nexus, I have an idea!"

Nexus snapped her head up.

"What's your name?" she asked him. "Again."

"Demyx," Demyx responded.

"Okay, then what's your idea?"

"I could take you to see him," he told her. Her heart nearly stopped. See...Axel...? She wasn't sure if she could pass up this opportunity... "He's already hanging out at the tower. I was planning on meeting him after this anyway. You should come!"

"But, Nexus!" Sora said, putting his hands on his hips. She bit her lip, staring at the ground.

"If I leave now...Sora and the others will have to fight for a while without me..." she realized. "But they'd be okay...right? I really want to see him..."

"_Nexus_!" Sora shouted angrily.

"..."

Demyx waited patiently for a response.

"...Okay, Demyx, let's go," she decided finally. She couldn't give up what might be her last chance.

"_Nexus_!!" Sora gasped, shocked.

"Hey, since I'm leaving, you can have this," Demyx said as Nexus trotted over to him. He tossed Sora the Olympus Stone. "I don't need it anymore. Keep it or whatever."

"But Nexus, what about us?" Sora whined.

"Sorry, Sora!" Nexus said, smiling sheepishly. Demyx opened a portal for them.

"Just whose side are you _on_, anyway?!" he cried as Demyx walked inside the portal.

Nexus grinned.

"_My own_, of course!" She waved. "Bye!"

And with that, she disappeared into the portal.


	12. Chapter 12: With the boys

Chapter 12: With the boys... (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=VmCroYAolEw)

Memo: 3 YES! Been waiting for this. Wish I could draw this as a manga...actually, I might. XD

*~*~*

"Axel!"

Axel whipped his head around to see Demyx standing over him with an unusually mischievious grin on his face. Normally Demyx tended to display a goofy, naive smile, but it was a bit different this time.

"Hey, Demyx," Roxas said with a kind smile, looking around Axel to see his friend.

But surprisingly, Demyx didn't bother to return the greeting.

"Axel, you're never going to guess what my surprise is for you!" he instead cheered.

"Do I really wanna know?" Axel asked, grimacing slightly.

"I'll give you a hint!" Demyx threw his arms out from his sides, his eyes growing wide. "CRAAAA-_ZY_!"

"I know too many crazy people, so that doesn't help."

"Oh, I concur."

Before Axel or anyone else could respond, Nexus stepped out from behind the corner of the clock tower.

"Hey," she said calmly, waving once. Inside, her heart was pounding along with her head at the mere sight of him. She prayed this wouldn't be their last meeting.

Axel jumped up.

"Nexus!" he cried. "What are you doing here?!"

Frowning, Nexus stared down Axel, disgruntled by his tone.

_He didn't even call me "Nex"..._ she thought before answering.

"I came to see you," she replied matter-of-factly, walking over to Axel. "Why else would I be here?"

Settling down, Axel slowly sat in between Nexus and Roxas without another word. Demyx plopped down on the other side of Nexus and grinned.

"Tada!" he shouted, holding out four bars of ice cream. "My treat."

"Thanks," Roxas said, taking one.

"Yeah, you didn't have to do this," Axel said, still taking one anyway.

"Wow!" Nexus took one also, gazing at it in wonder. "I've never even had one of these kind before. Are they really that good?"

When the three boys nodded, she smiled eagerly at them. Demyx and Axel returned the smile without a second thought; Roxas, however, became reserved. Honestly, he was afraid of Nexus, but it was his own fault. After all, he had been reading her story.

Suddenly Nexus snickered to herself; everyone else shot her a glance.

"Oh no," she said, her face instantly becoming stony serious as she peered into her friends' faces. "Is this going to be like one of those stories where the girl gets abducted by her guys friends and they drug her and she passes out and then they take turns raping her and beating her up until she dies and then they throw her dead body off a cliff never to be found again?"

The silence that followed was short-lived. Laughter erupted through the air from everyone but Roxas, who stared at his ice cream bar with wide, innocent eyes.

"I've _never_ heard of _anything_ like that before..." he murmured, horrified, but no one heard him through the guffawing.

"Ah, hey," Demyx said, pointing at Nexus' ice cream after the laughter began to subside. "Your drugged-up ice cream is melting. Wouldn't want to lose that!"

With a smirk, Nexus looked down at her frozen treat, which was slowly melting and dripping down her bare forearm. Shrugging, Nexus licked the salty-sweet syrup off her arm, following the trail all the way up to the stick. There wasn't a single distracted eye then, even from Roxas.

.........

Nexus' PoV

It got kind of quiet after that, but the silence was rough at all. It was a peaceful kind of quietness, with a breeze passing by us every now and then. In fact, after a while, it got kind of cold. My ice cream even slowed in its melting; I had kind of stopped eating it as I had gotten lost in the scenery. But it was really refreshing, and the view was incredible.

"I've never been up here like this before anywhere," I admitted, staring out over the quiet town.

"Isn't it pretty?" Demyx agreed, grinning. I nodded, smiling.

"I guess I didn't realize that this town is _always_ in twilight, except at night." Roxas nodded.

"It's been that way since I can remember," he said. "Must be how it got its name."

"One would assume," I agreed.

Axel didn't say anything in response, but instead he chewed on the end of his stick impatiently. I could tell he _wanted_ to say something, and I wondered if me being there was an issue.

Suddenly Demyx stood up, twirling his ice cream stick around his index finger. I was shocked he could even manage to do that; he didn't seem all that coordinated to me. Maybe I was wrong. I don't know, but I never will.

Anyway, he sighed, leaning against the back of the tower.

"I should probably get going," he stated after a moment's hesitation. "Xemnas will rip me apart anyway for not getting after Sora in the Coliseum." He grinned. "Hey, what can I say? I told him not to send me!"

He seemed pretty satisfied with himself.

"So, Axel, you can take Nexus back to her ship, can't you?"

Axel glanced up at Demyx and nodded slightly. His eyes looked distant but cold and irritated. I wanted to be able to read his mind. I didn't want to make him angry by my being there; I had assumed originally Axel was going to use the opportunity to talk to Roxas.

"Cool beans!" Stretching his arms, Demyx shot me a cat-like wink. "I'll see you around, Nexus. It was good to see you again, even if you don't remember me from before."

I grinned. "Yeah, well, I promise I'll remember you next time," I assured him.

He nodded, still smiling dumbly. "Let's hope so. See you guys later."

"Bye," Roxas said politely as Demyx ducked into a portal.

Again, Axel stayed silent.

*~*~*

Roxas glanced at his two friends. They weren't saying anything, but they were both looking out into the distance, both of them lost in thought, both of them torn as to whether or not they should speak or wait to be spoken to.

_They're a lot alike_, the blonde decided, slowly rotating the popsicle stick in his fingers. _But I don't think they realize how much they're alike._

Roxas glanced at them again to see Nexus glance at Axel quickly, then sigh quietly and look away.

_Well, maybe_ she _does._

Sighing heavily, Roxas pushed himself to his feet. Axel and Nexus snapped out of it and whipped their heads around to look at him.

"You too?" Nexus asked, sounding disappointed. "You've hardly talked to us this whole time."

_I'm not the only one_, he thought about saying, but instead replied, "Yeah, I know, but I have something I need to get done. I've been procrastinating."

He tried to look embarrassed, and Nexus seemed to buy it.

"It was good to see you, either way," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, same."

"Take care of yourself," Axel said quietly, only giving Roxas a slight nod of the head.

"I will. See you guys later."

The two murmured a quiet goodbye, then faced the twilight sky again.

Roxas slowly walked around the corner and started to summon a portal. But then he thought twice.

He'd just left to set them up. There was no point in leaving now if he could eavesdrop this easily.

The portal closed, and Roxas silently leaned against the clock tower, out of view of his friends.

Nexus' PoV

Before, when it was quiet, it was a comforting silence.

But after Roxas left, the silence was painful.

There was a list of things I wanted to say to him, some things nicer than others, but I didn't want to instigate conversation if he wasn't going to participate, because I knew he had something to say, too. He was still adamently gnawing on the end of his ice cream stick. (I had barely touched mine, and it was now a blob on the end of a brown stick.)

"Are you...mad at me?"

I glanced up at Axel, making sure I had actually heard him say that, and not my imagination. But he made eye contact back, and I quickly looked away. I couldn't answer him. I didn't know how to.

Yes, I was mad at him. And...no, I wasn't. I certainly wasn't angry without reason.

I was definitely pissed at how he had acted while we all were hanging out on the tower. He was being so rude and totally inconsiderate--but I did know he had something on his mind. So I was kind of angry, but kind of not.

"I..." He sighed, sounding frustrated. Who was he frustrated with? Me or himself? "I just need time. You should know that by now."

I didn't say anything; I didn't want to be rude and interrupt. So Axel continued, and I listened.

"This whole thing with Roxas is just messed up, and not because of you. Xemnas and the Organization are totally involved now, and DiZ, and Namine. People are just being stupid and only thinking of their own wants." Um, hypocrite much? Wasn't he trying to protect Roxas for his own wants, to be his best friend, his big brother?

"Anyway, it doesn't concern you," he declared, not looking at me. So I didn't look at him. But this DID concern me--a lot. His existance and well-being _definitely_ were concerns of mine. But his mind was totally clouded with his goal of rescuing Roxas, the pathetic younger brother. "The only thing you need to worry about right now is protecting Sora. But hey, I'm worried about you doing that. After all, shouldn't that be where you are now?" He didn't give me a chance to reply. "I mean, I understand why you came, but I need you to stay with him. It's the only chance I've got at getting Roxas back to his old self. And I--"

I had managed to stay quiet for most of his speech, but at this point, I snapped.

"It's not all about _you_, y'know!" I screamed into the fading daylight. Even though I wasn't looking directly at him or anything, I must've really startled him, because he instantly went silent. I thought it might be a good idea to explain myself.

"I took a risk, coming here today," I said, my voice shaking with anger. "I took a _risk_ for _you_. I _came here_ to see _you_."

*~*~*

Nexus sighed, shaking her head.

"I didn't know when I'd ever get to see you again, you know?" she continued, refusing to make eye contact. "I knew that if I came with Demyx, that I'd be leaving Sora alone for however long this took, but I was willing to take the risk. I really wanted to see you, but not just because of me. I thought, you know, maybe you'd be as happy as me to get together again. I thought me coming here would make _you_ happy, too. I was just trying to give you something to be _happy_ about. But...I guess... I guess it doesn't matter, does it? Because...because--you can't _FEEL_!!"

At that last word, Nexus chucked her ice cream bar as far as it would go, and it landed somewhere beyond their sight, probably on someone's roof.

"It's not just _you_ here!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. "I'm trying so hard--!" She said no more, but instead began to sob uncontrollably.

Axel, who was completely taken aback, didn't say anything. He had no clue WHAT to say. ...Or if he should say anything at all.

As Nexus bawled and curled up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest, Axel watched her in silence.

_I am a terrible friend_, he realized. _I can't do anything right for her._

Axel pushed himself to his feet, and as slowly and gently as possible, lifted Nexus to him. She nearly collapsed into him, but he was stronger and managed to hold her upright.

"I'm sorry, Nex," he whispered over and over. He really, genuinely was.

.........

_I wish I could be stronger,_ Nexus thought as she stood there, drained of all energy. The only thing keeping her from falling was Axel. _How long have we been here?_

Hours...they had been sitting and standing on this clock tower for hours. Roxas had been listening to her sobs for hours. Even after reading part of her story, he hadn't realized just how painful this whole thing really was, and how...he was part of it.

But he didn't want Axel's help...he didn't need it.

"I'm sorry," Axel repeated one more time. Nexus finally (albeit cautiously) lifted her gaze to meet his. "I really am. I'm a terrible friend."

"No you're not," she insisted weakly. "A terrible friend wouldn't have held me up for this long."

She shot Axel a curled-at-the-ends smile, and he knew this all was water under the bridge now.

"I should probably be getting back. It's getting really late."

Sure enough, the orange sky had gotten pretty dark. Stars were easily visible through the clouds. It was a beautiful, almost magical night.

"Then I'll take you back to your ship," Axel said, opening a portal with one hand while still holding Nexus with the other. Together they walked through, and soon they had disappeared, leaving Roxas alone.

The blonde sighed heavily.

_I'm lucky, and I shouldn't be,_ he thought, gazing up at the stars, _because I've got somewhere to go._

Nexus' PoV

"Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?" Axel asked me as I collapsed onto the window seat. I nodded.

"Sora will probably be back soon," I replied, glancing out the window. It was a deserted port, and not a soul was going to make it out onto the ocean where we were bobbing without getting exhausted. "Besides, I'd love to see someone make it out here."

Axel smirked, but I didn't respond. I simply didn't have the energy.

"Nex...I'll see you later," he said. My head clunked against the window, but I made sure my eyes met his.

"Are you sure?" I asked him, not feeling too confident in his goodbye.

"I promise."

I paused for a long moment, then nodded, returning my gaze to the window.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that, then," I finally declared. "See you later."

"Bye, Nex."

As he disappeared through a portal, I managed to mouth "I love you" without being seen.

The next thing I knew, Sora was back with his band of clowns.

"How long have you been here?" he asked. I blinked. Goooood question.

"I dunno. I must've dozed off," I replied, stifling a yawn. "I feel sleepy."

"You don't look well."

He knelt down next to me, placing a hand on my forehead. ...I think he had grown again while I was gone.

"I'm not sick," I insisted, knocking his hand away.

"Yes, you are," he argued. "You have a fever."

"It's just from exhaustion."

"You need to rest."

"_I'm fine._"

"_No, you're not."_

Sora stared me down, but I was way too tired to keep it up, so I finally sighed, giving in.

"Rest during Agrabah," he commanded me.

"Whatever." I closed my eyes and stretched out over the window seat. I wouldn't have any problem with that order.


	13. Chapter 13: Always Believing

Chapter 13: Always Believing (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=4uYafV5jK5E)

Memo: Aww, Nex is so funny. :3 Her outfit is sweet, btw. Maybe I will post a picture of it in another chapter...or on deviantart, which seems more likely at this point. :D

Nexus' PoV

"Nexus? How're you doing?"

Forcing my eyes open, I stared into Sora's concerned blue eyes, dazed.

"Still tired, but better than earlier," I replied, stretching. I really was feeling better.

Sora sighed through his nose, placing his hand on my forehead.

"Your fever's gone down," he stated.

"Because I slept. I told you it was from exhaustion."

He sighed again.

"Well...alright. Since you're feeling better, let's get going," he said, giving in. "We're at the next world."

"And where would that be?"

.........

"Hey, this is Halloween Town, right?" Sora said more to himself than us.

"Wherever we are, this place is my favorite by far," I replied.

All our appearances had magically changed: Sora looked like a vampire, Donald a mummy, Goofy a zombie...and me? Well, my costume didn't change much at all. I was wearing a pin-stripe cloak fashioned after my Organization XIII cloak, with black boots and a black tube top and leather skirt to match. A black headband topped it off.

"You have cat eyes," Sora pointed out, smiling. "And fangs."

"Sweet."

We all looked around at the scenery, noticing orange festive lights lining the brick walls. They seemed out of place, for certain.

Suddenly something white dove in front of us. Everyone jumped.

"Hey, it's Zero!" Sora exclaimed after regaining composure. "How've you been, boy?"

"Zero," as he was called, was nothing more than a white ghost dog with a glowing miniature pumpkin for a nose. He circled around Sora and the others happily, then dashed off toward where I assumed the town to be.

"We should follow him," I decided, trotting after the friendly ghost. Sora nodded and followed, with Donald and Goofy bringing up the rear.

Upon entering the town square area, we saw more festive lights and a huge hunk of wood, fashioned into what seemed to be a launchpad. It was totally out of place in the square; everything else seemed darker and scarier, like the fountain with its glowing green water or the guillotine.

"What's that for?" Sora wondered aloud, stepping toward the launchpad.

The chiming of bells was heard in response.

"It's Jack!" Donald squawked.

Somebody, presumably Jack, was flying over us in what was supposed to be a sleigh, but was instead a trashcan led by skeleton reigndeer.

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" Jack cried, jumping out of the sleigh. He was a skeleton, too, but obviously on our side. "Welcome back, and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas?" Sora gasped, confused as I was. "Don't you mean, 'Happy Halloween'?"

"Of course. Halloween greetings from Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King."

Jack made I think what was supposed to be a scary face, but failed.

"Forgive me. I'm in a Christmas mood. You see, I'm running the show again this year--but I need Sandy Claws's blessing, so I'm off to Christmas Town."

Sora shot me a funny look, and I returned it easily, confused.

"'Sandy Claws'?" he whispered to us.

"I think he means Santa Claus," Goofy said.

"Aren't these decorations wonderful?" Jack continued, hopping up onto the edge of the fountain with glee. "This year Halloween Town's going to handle Christmas too! But first! We have to visit Sally. She's working on something no self-respecting Santa Claus can do without. Come along--I'll show you!"

We didn't really have the chance to argue with him, since he bounded off toward a door and disappeared inside.

"A Halloween Town Christmas..." Sora murmured.

Yes, that meant this Christmas was to include severed heads, demented toys, and cackling reigndeer. Fun fun.

Donald and Goofy shivered when they came to the same realization.

"Wanna go check it out?" Sora said, making them slump.

"C'mon, hurry!" Jack shouted at us, poking his skull outside of the door.

Sighing, we all hurried after him, eventually walking into what appeared to be a lab. There was a short, strange-looking man sitting in a wheelchair, studying something, and there were three little kids running around in Halloween costumes. I got distracted by them, but suddenly my attention was diverted to the man, who opened his head and scratched his brain.

I didn't feel better anymore.

*~*~*

"Hello, Doctor!" Jack said in a cheerful voice. Sora knew he hadn't changed a bit. "Where's Sally?"

"Can't you see...that I'm in the middle of an experiment?" Doctor Finkelstein shouted, his head slamming closed. Sora glanced back at the others; Nexus looked disgusted.

Then the door to the lab opened, and Sally walked in, but she was cut off by Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who were carrying some machine part.

"Hey, this is way too heavy!" Lock complained to his friends.

"Then let's toss it!" Shock replied.

"You do and you'll be sorry!" the Doctor shouted from his chair. "Now bring it over here."

"Heave-ho!" the kids shouted, throwing the wheel onto the lab table. It shuddered, then sparked, then exploded in Jack and Sora's faces. The kids laughed, taking off their masks in joy. As the smoke cleared, the children ran off, Barrel tripping, and disappeared out the door. Jack immediately turned his full attention to Sally.

"Imbeciles! Now my experiment is ruined!" the Doctor lamented, but no one was listening.

"Sally!" Jack cried with enthusiasm. "Did you finish it? I want to show my good friends. And my new friend." He gestured to Nexus. "Of whom I don't even know her name. But any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine!"

"I'm Nexus," Nexus said, but Jack wasn't listening.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I...I need a little bit more time," Sally replied cautiously.

"Ohh... Well, that's all right. Just as long as it's ready for Christmas!"

Jack gave Sally's shoulder a little pat and began to walk away.

"But... Jack..." she started.

"I'd best be off," Jack interrupted, back to his friends. "I've got to go get Sandy Claws, right away! Wonderful to see you again. Good-bye for now!"

And with that, Jack disappeared out the door.

"Go get Santa Claus...?" Sora mumbled, thinking hard about this.

"Please, Sora," Sally pleaded. "I'm afraid something terrible will happen if Jack goes through with this."

"You can say that again!" Donald quacked disapprovingly.

"Sora?" Goofy said.

Sora, who was staring up at the ceiling, was completely engaged elsewhere.

_If Jack is going to see Santa, then I bet we can see him too!_ he thought. _But what would I say?_

"Hey, snap out of it!" Nexus shouted, clonking Sora in the head with her fist. He jumped.

"Are those strange-looking fellows in the town square with you?"

Everyone jumped this time, and they turned to see Jack poking his skull back in again.

"Huh? What 'fellows'?" Sora asked as Jack entered.

"You know, the ones who wanted to spoil Halloween AND Christmas? What are they called again..." Jack scratched his chin in thought. "...Heartless?"

"They're definitely not with us," Sora replied. "But Donald, Goofy, and I can get rid of them for you. And then we can go see Santa!"

The room fell silent except for Donald's impatient foot-tapping.

"But first, the Heartless!" Sora exclaimed when he noticed.

.........

Nexus' PoV

"How is Sandy Claws supposed to relax with all this going on?" Jack whined as we defeated the last of the Heartless. "That's it, fellows! Sandy Claws needs bodyguards. Are you up to the task?"

"Us?" Donald asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Sora answered without.

"All right, bodyguards! Christmas Town is this way!" Jack pointed to where we came from before. "The doorway is in the woods just past the graveyard!"

Since we all actually knew where that was, no one hesitated this time, and we all ran off to get to Christmas Town. After all, who WOULDN'T look forward to meeting Santa Claus, especially when you were an avid believer yourself?

Anyway, we easily wasted the Heartless ahead of us--given there were five of us--and soon we reached a small forest with a circle of trees. Each of the trees in the circle had a colored, shaped door based on a holiday.

The temptation to go in the St. Patrick's Day door was overwhelming.

"Here it is! The door to Christmas Town," Jack announced, gesturing toward a tree-shaped door adorned with ornaments and shiny garlan. "The spooks of Halloween can get so tiresome year after year. I wanted something new. And I found this! Beyond this door is a world filled with wonders...the likes of which you've never seen! As first I couldn't believe my eyes! Everything was so fresh and exciting!"

It didn't sound like a place he was describing, but it was enticing.

"C'mon! Just open it!" Sora cried, about to bounce right out of his pants. I prayed he wouldn't.

Jack obliged and pulled the door open. Sora and I raced to be the first one inside.

We fell for a while before being tossed out onto the cold, white snow. Sora's outfit had changed into a black and white santa suit. He grinned at me, and I figured my outfit had changed, too.

Suddenly Donald plopped onto top of him, dressed as a snowman, and then Goofy next, as a reigndeer. Sora shook them off and he grinned again, his eyes glowing excitedly.

"Cooool!" he gasped, looking over the quaint little town of Christmas.

"Wow!" Donald agreed.

"Oh, so _now_ you care," I muttered, brushing myself off. Sure enough, my pinstripe coat was gone, and in its place was a black and white snowsuit like Sora's, only much more feminine.

"So where's Santa?" Donald asked Jack as he appeared behind us.

"In his workshop," he replied, pointing to a big red building in the town. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" I exclaimed, bounding down the snow-covered hill.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Sora shouted, running after me.

But there was no way I could stop now. I was only getting started.

.........

After defeating the Heartless we found in Town Square, we entered the warm home of Santa Claus. It smelled of pine trees and cookies. Everything was festive and bright. It made my spirit warm and soaring once more.

"Whoa!" Donald and Sora gasped upon seeing Santa sitting in his chair. I couldn't say anything.

"Well, hello everyone," Santa said in a kind but booming voice. "Did you come to see if you're on my 'nice' list?"

Sora crept closer, looking afraid and stoked at the same time.

"Your name?" Santa asked, smiling.

"Um, Sora, sir," Sora said.

"Let's see...Sora...Here you are." Sora, at this point, was about to dance out of the room. "Well, according to my list, Sora...seven years ago you told everyone you did not believe in Santa Claus... Oh, that is unfortunate."

"GAHH!" Sora cried, holding his head in his hands desparately.

"How about Donald and Goofy?" Donald asked, moving the mourning Sora aside.

Santa looked at his list, then nodded, smiling.

"Oh, boy!"

"And me? I'm Nexus," I said meekly. _Whoa, was that my own voice?_ "I-I can't imagine murderers or arsonists are on your nice list."

Santa, after giving me a wary look, scanned the names, reading some out loud.

"Ty Lee...Ai...Kira...Sune..."

"_I'm_ here," her voice said in the back of my head. She giggled; I clenched my teeth angrily.

"Shut up," I muttered. Santa peered up at me, and I blushed.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing. Talkin' to myself, is all. Sorry."

*~*~*

"Am I on your list, too, by any chance? It's me, Jack!" Jack said with a grin. Santa started.

"Jack Skellington!?" he cried, bewildered.

Suddenly a loud crash came from the toy factory. Santa reluctantly pulled himself up from his chair.

"What sort of trouble did you bring this time?" he groaned, walking toward the factory door.

"This time?" Sora asked, turning to Jack.

"It's a long story!" Jack replied nonchalantly. Sora and Nexus exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. Nevertheless, they all followed Santa into his workshop. It was quiet for a moment, then they heard a familiar high-pitched voice.

"What do you want us to do?" it cried.

"Who's there?" Santa bellowed.

"Busted!" three very familiar voices shouted in unison.

The group heard a smash of glass, then saw the three little pranksters jumping out of the hole they'd made in the window.

"It's Lock, Shock, and Barrel!" Jack exclaimed, narrowing his eyes--or should I say the holes where the eyes should've been?

"Not those three..." Santa grumbled.

"I assure you, they're not with us."

"Well, whatever the case, they've been quite naughty. Catch them and bring them back here. They're going to get a lecture."

Santa began to walk back to his house.

"Uh...Mr. Claws?" Jack began, meaning to follow him. "I wanted to talk to you about Christmas first."

"It'll have to wait," Santa said sternly, stopping. "I need to see how things are progressing in my workshop."

"C'mon, Jack--let's catch those little pranksters," Sora agreed, trying to get his friend focused on the business at hand.

"Oh, all right, then," Jack sighed, giving up for now.

"You know, a lecture does sound pretty harsh, especially one from Santa Claus," Nexus said, sticking out her lower lip in thought.

"You act like punishing them's a bad thing," Sora stated. She shrugged.

"Sorry. Little kids are my weakness."

Sora stared at her, not sure if he should take her seriously or not.

"No, I'm serious!" She grinned. "I love kids. Even when they're rotten to the core, they're still so fun and lively and innocent. It's when they get to be teenagers that I can't stand them."

Pouting, Sora shoved Nexus over. She yelped, tripping on her robe, and fell on her butt.

"You're just proving my point!" she shouted angrily. Sora took that as his cue to run. Nexus took _that_ as her cue to chase him.

Nexus' PoV

I caught up to Sora just outside of Santa's workshop. He was standing still, probably catching his breath, but I tackled him anyway.

"Hey, hey! Get off!" he shouted angrily.

"Sorry, you left yourself open for that one," I declared, standing upright and brushing the snow off of me.

"Didn't you see?"

He pointed to a mush of snow, just below the cracked window. A set of strange footprints took over from there and seemed to lead back to Halloween Town.

"You think it's them?" I asked. He nodded. "Alright, then let's go."

As soon as the others joined us, we set off in search of the mischief makers. Their footprints certainly led us into Halloween Town and into the graveyard. We stopped just outside of the Curly Hill.

"This is it," I said, sighing. I loaded my gun. "Let's get going."

"You think we'll have to fight them?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Perhaps."

_Not them, but a Heartless_, I thought.

Sure enough, the three were waiting for us, with a giant, mechanical-looking Heartless hovering over them.

"There they are!" Sora cried. They jumped up into the Heartless' cage.

"Stop them!" the devil shouted.

"Tie 'em down!" the witch added.

"Get 'em!" the skeleton commanded, and the Heartless making a smacking noise with its mouth.

"No, you are NOT going to eat _me_," I said quickly, running up the hill as it ate of the kids and absorbed his powers. "How can I fight this thing? What would Xigbar do?"

Spying the curl of the hill, I dropped down to it, and latching my ankles on, I hung upside-down and began to shoot.

"Nice use of surroundings, Nexus!" I imagined Xigbar saying.

"Nice use of surroundings, Nexus!" Sora shouted to me, laughing.

Echo?

The Heartless was easily defeated, thanks to me and Goofy and Sora, the latter of two performing some crazy stunts with Goofy's shield.

"Ah ha ha ha!" the skeleton boy laughed. I assumed he was Barrel.

"That was fun!" the devil shouted. He was, then, Lock. Which made the little witch Shock.

"Let's go see if Mr. Oogie's ready!" she said, running off with her companions.

"Oogie!?" Jack cried, sounding alarmed. I didn't understand why, though.

"Isn't he the one who tried to take over Halloween Town before?" Sora asked. Ah. That made sense.

"That's him. Fellows, I hope you're ready for trouble..." I was kind of getting tired of being referred to as a "fellow."

"Don't we have enough trouble already?" Goofy pointed out.

We all nodded, noting that was the smartest thing he'd probably ever said.

*~*~*

The party had just entered the graveyard when Sally came running toward them from the Hinterlands, her doll-like arms swinging urgently.

"What's wrong, Sally?" Jack said when she met them.

"Jack!" she exclaimed. "Oogie's kidnapped Santa Claus!"

"Oh, no!" Jack cried.

"And he's headed to Christmas Town!"

"C'mon, Jack--let's hurry!" Sora insisted, tugging on Jack's bony arm.

Jack nodded intently, speeding off with the others. Sally stood and watched them, feeling helpless. But at this point, she knew there was nothing else she could do.

Except...maybe...follow them.

.........

Just as the group entered Yuletide Hill, a large cloud of black smoke rose up from Santa's workshop.

"That's Santa's house!" Donald cried.

"Then that's where we should be!" Nexus confirmed.

"I'll go with you," a meek voice said.

They turned to see Sally, who had apparently followed them into town.

"Okay," Nexus said before anyone else could say anything. She smiled at the rag doll. After all, who was she to hold back a fellow woman?

They reached Santa's workshop with no time to spare, seeing as Oogie Boogie had just tied up Santa.

"Jack Skellington!" Oogie cried when they entered the room.

"Oogie!" Jack growled.

"You and I have a score to settle, Jack! Same goes for your little sidekicks!"

"Hey! I don't even know you!" Nexus whined.

"What are you planning to do with Sandy Claws?" Jack shouted, ignoring Nexus. They failed to notice Sally sneaking around one of the conveyor belts, holding one of her detachable legs in her hands.

"Who? Sandy Claws? I don't know what you're talking about!" Oogie bounded down next to Santa. "And why is this roly-poly red guy here? Time to go, grandpa!"

He shooed Santa away, then kicked him out of the way. Laughing, Oogie stood in triumph when suddenly a leg landed in front of him.

"Eh?"

Santa, who had gotten to his feet, managed to hop away as Oogie peered at the lovely leg.

"Mr. Santa Claus!" Sally hissed, waving the big man over. Oogie looked up immediately, and he began to storm toward them. But Jack and the others were quicker, and they blocked the path, weapons in hand.

"Why, you..." Oogie growled. But he didn't finish his threat. Instead he waddled back onto the conveyor belt and into a scaffold that lifted him far above their heads. He laughed, pressing a button, and spikes appeared at the end of each belt. The belts began to move, and Donald jumped.

"Stop!" he quacked, running toward one of the blue, glowing holes. It spit him out on another belt. "Huh?" He turned and ran out, only to end up right where he started. "Not again!"

"Nice view from up here!" Oogie laughed from his tower. Nexus sighed, then narrowed her eyes.

It seemed that Oogie's scaffold was weak enough that it might break with more weight.

Nexus' PoV

"Look, there are little presents," Sora said, peering at the little boxes that came out onto the conveyor belts. It clicked.

"Hit them up into the scaffold!" I hissed, shoving Sora toward them.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!"

Giving me a funny look, Sora eventually obliged and knocked the presents up at Oogie with his keyblade.

My plan was working, it seemed; the metal rods holding Oogie up were already creaking. But it was going to take a lot more presents.

Luckily, we were in Santa's workshop, and presents were quite abundant on the conveyor belt.

"Yah!" Sora cried, knocking away a present. Instead of joining the others, though, it exploded in our faces, and two Heartless popped out.

Apparently those were NOT the boxes we were supposed to be knocking away.

As Sora continued to whack around boxes, I helped Donald and Goofy defeat the Heartless. But it seemed like every time one died, another two would show up. I glanced at Sora, then saw the problem:

Sora was simply hitting every single box that came across his path, including the ones holding Heartless. Obviously he didn't get that the boxes wouldn't do _anything_ but give us enemies.

Suddenly a large box appeared in front of Sora, and he readied his keyblade.

"NO!" I shouted, running toward him. But it was too late. His blade collided with the box, and it exploded in our faces, knocking us both off of our feet. Heartless sprung out everywhere.

"You okay?" Sora asked me, hoisting me to my feet.

"From now on," I sputtered angrily, "_I_ hit the boxes. _You_ can kill the Heartless."

.........

Needless to say, after the fight was over and won, with Oogie's bugs disappearing, I was wiped out. All the energy I thought I had regained was long gone.

"All right, Christmas is safe again!" Sora cheered.

"Perfect!" Jack exclaimed joyfully. "I'd better get down to business!"

"Leave that to Santa!" Donald said.

"Yup, you oughta stick to Halloween and spooky stuff!" Goofy agreed. I nodded, out of breath.

"Jack?"

Sally walked out to us, holding out a red suit to Jack.

"Here, it's done," she said modestly.

"Wonderful! Why, I love it!" Jack said, taking the suit from her and beginning to put it on. "Thank you, Sally!"

"Jack... Do you really have to do this?" Sally asked.

"But I make a splendid Sandy Claws!" Jack insisted.

"Listen here, Jack Skellington," Santa said, coming outside to join us in the cold, winter air. "You saved me, and Christmas as well. And for that, I'm very grateful. But please promise you won't cause any more trouble! And about that suit!"

Jack whirled around, showing it off. I sighed and plopped down in the snow. It felt so good.

"Don't even think about taking over for me again!" Mr. Claus finished.

"I just thought you could use a little help this year, Mr. Claws," Jack explained, nearly pouting. "You must be exhausted from all the preparations. And--I wouldn't mind a second chance to get this Christmas thing right."

"Yes, being Santa Claus can be tiring," Santa admitted. "But let me tell you something, Jack. Seeing the happy faces of little children when they discover the presents I've brought them makes it all worthwhile, year after year after year. And you, Jack--you love to make them gasp and see them shiver with fright. What if someone tried to take all of that away from you?"

Frowing, Jack looked at the ground and scratched his skull in thought.

"We both have very important jobs to do, Jack," he continued. "Mine is to take care of Christmas, and yours is to take care of Halloween. So we each have to do the very best we can. After all, you're the face of Halloween--Mr. Jack Skellington! The Pumpkin King! The Knight of Nightmares!" Jack's face seemed to brighten at this. "And even though you're fascinated with Christmas, Jack...Halloween is your true specialty. Don't you see? Children rely on both of us to do our jobs. Halloween needs your attention...and I know Christmas needs mine--urgently."

Santa turned around as if to leave, but hesitated first.

*~*~*

"You're right!" Jack exclaimed proudly. "I am the master of terror! And if Halloween has become too routine, all I have to do is think of something new that'll really make them scream!"

"Jack! Oh, Jack!"

Suddenly the Halloween Town mayor appeared, hustling over with graphs and charts.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! We must go over the plans for next Halloween! I can't do a thing without your approval!"

"So true," Jack sighed, beginning to walk away with the mayor.

"Good luck, Jack Skellington," Santa murmured as the skeleton king walked away, gesturing wildly and with excitement. Sora smiled.

"Well, there he goes," the young hero said.

"Yes, and I've got lots of names to check and preparations to finish!" Santa said, once again making for the exit.

As if in response, Jack's suit suddenly lit up and began to glow. The mayor's face whirled around to show sadness and fear.

"Jack, this is no time for joking!" he cried.

"What's this?" Jack wondered as he floated into the air. "Perhaps a bit too festive for our Halloween needs."

Only a moment later, a new gateway was open for Sora and the others to travel to.

"We better get going," Sora said to Santa.

"Before you do, Sora..." Santa began. "I believe there's a friend of yours...who--if I recall correctly--was the one who told you there's no such thing as Santa Claus?"

Sora smirked at the memory, and Nexus knew immediately who Mr. Claus was referring to.

"Oh yeah..." Sora murmured. "He did say that."

"Be sure to give him my very best wishes."

"I will, but... Do you know where I can _find_ Riku?"

Nexus bowed her head slightly, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. She knew--and man, did she feel guilty.

"No...but don't give up!" Santa gave Sora a reassuring smile. "Remember, if you believe in Riku, you will find him. Just as you found me."

"Right!"

Sora turned to his friends.

"C'mon, let's go."

.........

The second Nexus entered the ship, she threw herself onto the window seat, eyes shut tightly.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked her. She nodded.

"Quit lying--you're terrible at it," Sora said, walking over to her. She shook her head.

"Am not," she mumbled, then flinched at Sora's cold hand.

"You have a fever again." Sighing, he stood upright. "You're staying behind. Sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Nexus said, forcing herself to get up. She shuffled to their room and then collapsed onto her bunk. In a moment, she was out.


	14. Chapter 14: Miss Understood

Chapter 14: Miss Understood (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=BuZFy_J_Xdg)

Memo: My second favorite Ayumi Hamasaki album woot woot! :D (Next Level and Guilty are a tie for first. :D) So, we're continuing on, almost halfway there!

Nexus' PoV

I have no idea how long I was asleep, but I was out long enough to miss the entirety of the next world. According to Sora, though, they had turned into lions, and that didn't sound all that appealing, so I have no regrets.

Anyway, I truly did feel better the second time around. Although, I had to wonder if my joke about the drugged ice cream was true... I digress.

So as I prepared to accompany my companions to the next world, Sora didn't protest.

"Looky there!" Chip, our cheery chipmunk friend, shouted. "Twilight Town!"

"Yep, I can see it!" Dale agreed, pointing at the screen where the world now back again. "It's back again!"

"Then that's where we should go!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully. "I was getting worried that the world wouldn't come back..." He sighed, relieved.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I asked, smiling. "Fly us out there!"

.........

"Things look normal, so I wonder why this place disappeared?" I said, looking around the tram commons. People were still hanging out, buying ice cream. Ice cream...ah!

_This doesn't make sense,_ I thought. _I was just here with Demyx and the others. Why couldn't these three go, too?_

"-uh!!" Sora was shouting in my ear when I snapped out of it. I smacked him in the face. "Good, you're back. Let's get going!"

But before we could discuss what to do next, a little creature came waddling toward us quickly, screaming.

"H-Help! The sandlot! It's Seifer!" it gasped, toddling past us. "Somebody please help us!"

"Sounds like we've got trouble!" Sora murmured.

Sora and I looked at each other, then Donald and Goofy. Our agenda had been determined.

*~*~*

Upon arriving at the Sandlot, the party saw the three teens they met last time--the mean ones--lying on the ground, surrounded by dusks. Their leader, the muscular one with a hat, tried to get up and fight. Sora ran to him, keyblade in hand.

"We'll take it from here!" he assured him.

And so they did. The four easily destroyed the Dusks, but there were also bigger, new Nobodies that wielded large weapons and attacked relentlessly.

"I think magic is the easy way out," Sora said to Donald, and so the mage duck got right to work. Sora was right for once, and the Nobodies were vanquished with the rest.

The silence was quickly interrupted by someone clapping. The four whipped their heads around.

"Impressive," a black-cloaked man said, the clapping culprit.

"..." Nexus narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. She figured this must be Saix.

"By the way, have you seen a man named Axel?" the man asked. "I expect he's here somewhere."

Nexus lowered her eyes, faintly blushing. He was here? Could she find him, maybe? Her heart thudded hard.

"Like I care," Sora said, readying his keyblade. The man ignored the threat.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest," he continued, then gestured to Nexus. "Neither is she--"

The moment Saix started toward her, Sora jumped in front of her, clutching his keyblade tightly. Nexus, shocked, shifted her gaze between Saix and Sora. He was truly protecting her. He was...protecting _her_?

"Is Axel with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked. Saix backed down, straightening himself up. Sora didn't move.

"Yes," he replied gruffly.

"You havin' a fight?" Donald said.

"Not a very organized Organization..." Sora sneered. Saix pointed at Sora threateningly.

"Don't let your guard down," he warned. "Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister," Sora retorted. "But I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine."

"Glad to hear it. Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."

"Hearts? You don't have any hearts!" Donald quacked.

"True, we don't have hearts," Saix admitted, pulling down back his hood to reveal silver-blue hair and an "x" shaped scar on his face. His identity was confirmed. "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

"Whaddya mean?" Goofy asked as Saix summoned a portal behind him.

"We know very well how to injure a heart," he replied, preparing to leave. "Sora, you just keep on fighting those Heartless."

"Let's jump in after him!" Sora whispered to Donald, Nexus still standing behind him.

"How come?" Donald hissed back.

"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world."

"Don't be reckless," Saix said, interrupting them. "Do you want to end up like Riku?"

Sora and Nexus both gasped.

"What!?" Sora breathed. Saix didn't answer, but instead backed out of the sandlot, bowing as he disappeared through the portal. "Hey, wait!" Sora tried to chase him out. "...What did he mean, end up like Riku?" He turned to Nexus, and she immediately looked away, pretending to be thinking hard.

Nexus' PoV

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now?" the leader of the stupid teens said, sneering at us. Sora wasn't paying attention. "You've caused enough trouble."

"Riku..." Sora murmured, bowing his head. Donald glared at the kid, as did I.

"Have it your way!" he squawked, then turning to us. "C'mon, guys."

We turned to leave when suddenly the thug kid shouted at us, "Hold it!"

"Make up your mind!" Donald snapped. We stopped and turned to see the teen holding a fancy trophy out toward us.

"This goes to the strongest guys in Twilight Town," he explained, then tried to give it to us. Sora, snapping out of his short-lived depression, pointed to himself in shock. Then he smiled, shaking his head.

"Thanks, but...we don't really need it," he insisted.

The kid didn't care what we thought, apparently, because he shoved the trophy into Goofy's arms and walked off with his band of thugs.

"Whoa!" Goofy cried, almost dropping it. The kid smirked at us before disappearing from our sight.

"Well...it's about time we got recognized for something," I said quietly, mirroring the smirk.

"Oh! Sora!"

We looked around to see a familiar face running toward us.

"Um...Pence, right?" Sora asked, putting a hand to his chin in thought. Pence ignored him.

"Do you know a girl named Kairi?" he inquired.

"K...Kairi!?" Sora stammered, nearly jumping out of his skin in joy. "I sure do!"

"Then you better come to the station!"

Sora pumped his fist a little in success.

"Hey, at least one of your friends is okay!" I said as we followed Pence to Central Station. He nodded, grinning broadly.

_He has no idea how lucky he is_, I thought, sighing quietly.

"He-ey!" Hayner shouted to us when we got to the entrance. He and Olette came jogging over.

"Hey, so how do you guys know Kairi?" Sora asked.

But the kids didn't answer; instead the blonde and the girl exchanged sad looks. Sora's smile faded.

"Look, about Kairi..." Hayner started.

"She was kidnapped!" Olette exclaimed. We jumped.

"WHAT?!" Sora cried.

"It's true," Pence agreed. "She and this dog came flying through a hole in the wall while we were hangin' in the Usual Spot. So we talked to her and found out who she was. Turns out she was looking for you."

"We told her if she stayed here, you were bound to come back, just like you did," Hayner continued as Sora began to frown. "But just when that happened, this guy came through another hole in the wall and dragged her away."

"We tried to fight him off, but we were no match for him," Pence admitted, and Olette nodded.

"What did this guy look like?" Sora asked.

"He was really tall, kinda skinny," Pence described. I frowned. "He was wearing a black coat and--"

"And he had this crazy spiky red hair, like fire!" Olette finished. A lump formed in my throat.

_AXEL?!_ my mind shouted at me. _But why in the world would he do that?! What does he think that will help?_

"Kairi..." Sora murmured, staring at a little charm that must've been a gift from Kairi. Sighing, he pocketed it once more.

"Ya think it mighta been Axel?" I heard Goofy whisper to Donald. My hands started to get clammy. Why?

"Sorry..." Hayner apologized.

"Hey, it's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" Sora insisted with a smile. But he easily slumped down, frowning. "Like I can even say that..." He sighed, then straightened up quickly.

"I gotta help Kairi!" he shouted, startling Goofy, who was still holding the trophy.

*~*~*

"Whoa!" Goofy yelped, dropping the trophy. The four expensive and rare crystals on top popped right off, rolling around in different directions. Luckily, Hayner, Pence, and Olette managed to pick them up.

"That was close!" Pence said as Sora scooped up the blue one.

Sora nodded, staring at the crystal. He slowly held it up to the light of the setting sun. The others followed suit. Even Goofy pulled the same blue crystal out of the munny pouch from before and held it out. Only Donald and Nexus were without.

It was strange...as Nexus watched Sora, she could've sworn she saw Roxas instead.

"Sora!?" Donald quacked, probably jealous of the others.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Goofy asked. Sora snapped back to reality.

"Huh? What...?" he murmured, looking around at everyone, who was staring at him.

Suddenly the crystal in his hand began to glow radiantly, and it floated into the air. Sora knew this well; he opened a new gateway with his keyblade.

"Wh-what just happened?" Pence asked when the ritual subsided.

"A new road is open," Sora replied, staring at the sky. "And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it."

"You'd better hurry, then," Olette told him, smiling.

"You comin' back?" Hayner asked.

"Promise!" the bold hero exclaimed, and the others nodded their own promise.

.........

Sighing, Sora slouched down into the pilot's seat, looking completely distraught.

"The King, Riku--and now I've lost Kairi again, too," he murmured, his eyes filling with tears of frustration. Nexus quietly sat on the window seat.

"Don't be sad!" Donald insisted.

"Donald's right, you know!" Goofy agreed. "Why, you're the key that connects everything!"

"So it's all MY fault."

"Gawrsh, I didn't mean that. Just do what comes natural to ya and we're sure to find 'em."

"You said it!" Donald exclaimed cheerfully. Sora nodded, then looked back at Nexus.

"Why aren't YOU saying anything?" he asked. She glanced at him, unable to keep eye contact.

"Why do you care if I don't say anything?" she replied. "Usually you're telling me to shut up."

"I know you know something. You do, don't you?"

"No, nothing you already don't," she lied. "And even if I did? Would I tell you? No. Now shut up and get some rest."

Sora glared at Nexus, but she only stretched her arms in front of her, stifling a yawn.

"Seriously, you need to sleep on this before you go and do something totally irrational," she insisted, slowly walking toward the bedroom.

Sighing through his nose angrily, Sora stood up abruptly and followed her. Donald and Goofy, exchanging worried looks, eventually tagged along too.

Sora knew Nexus knew something. He knew she was lying. It was just...he couldn't prove it like he wanted to. But he knew Nexus and Axel and Saix were all connected somehow. The people in black coats...

.........

"...Why?"

The blonde glanced up from the interesting story he was reading and stared at Nexus. Her eyes fluttered with deep sleep, her mouth forming a small frown. Her lips parted as she murmured another "Why?" and then closed again.

_Talking in your sleep again, are you?_ he thought, glancing around the room. _Well, don't worry. These guys aren't gonna be waking up anytime soon._

It was quite true. Every night, Donald put himself under a special sleep spell that allowed him to get a full night's rest--however long he needed--without any interruptions. In other words, he wouldn't hear anything except for maybe a nuclear explosion.

As for Goofy, he could and would easily sleep through anything, especially Nexus' soft whispers and quiet cries of despair.

Sora...was another story.

"Axel..."

The blonde frowned. _Him again? Every night you say the same thing. 'Cept tonight, you added "why" to the mix. Is it because of Kairi?_

As if in response to his thoughts, Nexus curled her hand into a tight fist. He held completely still, and she stayed asleep, her hand gradually uncurling again. Her childlike face was relaxed, her small body curled into a ball. She was very pretty, he decided. Very.

Instinctively he stuck his nose back into the story. It was getting pretty interesting. Some of it he could've predicted from the start, though.

"Help...help!"

It made him genuinely sad when she cried out like that. Something in her subconcious was truly bothering her.

_Maybe it's her other self_, he pondered, his attention turned back to her. _Her other side._

Shutting the story, he placed it back under Nexus' bunk, sighing.

_After all, we're always the problem._


	15. Chapter 15: Connected

Chapter 15: Connected (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=L0DaqBVdgjo)

Memo: Woot. Almost halfway done! I think this will start to get really good after some stuff happens here. But this chapter will be sooooo long, so stick with me! :D Thank you for reading~

Nexus' PoV

"Oh no! Hollow Bastion!" Chip squeaked at us the next morning. We had just gotten up and were preparing to leave. "It's all covered in darkness!"

"You're right, Chipper!" Dale exclaimed. "I wonder what's goin' on."

"Sora! We better hurry and check it out right away!" Chip cried, bouncing around.

"Okay, okay, don't worry!" Sora said, plopping into the pilot's seat hurriedly.

We were in town in no time flat, and there was a large group of Heartless there to greet us. Just as we prepped to fight them, though, they disappeared.

"Do you think..." Sora started, lowering his keyblade.

"Looks like there's more Heartless now," Goofy said nervously. What was he going to say?

Following the Heartless, a few Dusks flew in, ignoring us and floating right over the side of the wall.

"Uhhh...." Donald stared in amazement.

"Let's go check in with everyone," Sora said hesitantly, his keyblade disappearing.

"I think they're at Merlin's," Goofy said.

"We hope," I added. The last thing we needed was another missing friend.

But as we started off through the Marketplace, it seemed losing friends was far from the truth here. Sora pointed out a tall, blonde young man to me and jogged over to him, grinning.

"Oh, Cloud!" he said cheerfully.

Cloud didn't move except for his piercing ice-blue eyes, which fluttered in our direction briefly. A look of irritation washed over his face, and he flicked his eyes away, closing them again. What did he have against us?

"Whatcha doing?" Donald asked nosily.

"I'll get him," Cloud replied, his face darkening. "This time we settle it. Me, and the one who embodies all the darkness in me."

_Sounds like Sune and me,_ I thought, smirking.

"I thought you looked kinda different, Cloud," Donald said, observing the blonde's dark clothing.

"If I do, it's his fault."

"Whose?" Sora prodded on.

"Sephiroth. Tell me if you see him."

"Okay." Sora shrugged off the request. God forbid he ever turn to darkness; his guillible nature would make him a great pawn. "What's he look like?"

"Silver hair. Carries a long sword," Cloud replied, actually making a little effort to make eye contact.

"Sure. Well, be seeing you, Cloud," Sora said just as cheerfully as before.

"Be careful." Cloud, who was leaning against the wall, stood straight up as if to leave. "He messes with your head, makes you think darkness is the only way."

"Is something wrong?"

We turned to see Aerith standing there. I don't know why I was surprised; I should've recognized her airy, sugary-sweet voice.

"Uhh..." I really was tempted to shout "AH-KWARD!" but I was good and stood there while Cloud turned to her.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, using similar coldness but more gently. I figured they must've had some sort of relationship.

Aerith wasn't buying his act and leaned close to him as if to ask for more.

"I don't want you involved," he stated.

"You mean you don't want me there when you go away again?" Suddenly I liked this girl.

"I just--" Cloud sighed. "Listen, even if I go far away, I'll come back."

"Do you mean it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, breaking eye contact.

"See? You don't look so sure." Aerith straightened up, shrugging a little. "Well, okay, I understand. Go--get things settled."

"Huh?" Cloud wrinkled his nose; it made him look strangely childish.

"No matter how far away you are...once you find your light...I'm sure it will lead you back here again. Right?" She beamed up at him. I could see him melting.

"I suppose," he replied.

"So I'll stay here--and I'll cheer for you--" She nodded. "Okay, Cloud?"

"Okay."

She let him pass by at last.

"Wonder if he'll be okay," Aerith sighed when he was out of sight.

"He'll be fine," Sora assured her, right on cue. "I'm sure there's some light in him somewhere."

"You're right."

Sora smiled at her and motioned for us to move on.

"What did you _do_ to that guy to make him _hate_ you?" I asked, laughing. Sora grinned.

"It's a long, long story..."

*~*~*

"Hey, fellas--you're just in time," Cid said as the four entered Merlin's house. Yuffie was standing beside him as he typed at a large computer. "Got some good news for ya, so get yourselves over to Leon's."

_I hate being referred to as a "fellow,"_ Nexus thought, scowling.

"What kind of news?" Sora inquired.

"We found the computer Ansem was using!" Yuffie cheered, grinning broadly at their success.

"Oh boy!" Donald squawked.

"Yep. Should be able to get all kinds of info on the Heartless and the Organization," Cid told them.

"And maybe something on the dark realm, too?" Sora prodded. "It looks like that's where Riku and Kairi are."

"And the King," Donald added.

"Go see for yourselves!" Cid barked, his back already turned to them as he continued typing.

"It can't hurt!" Yuffie agreed.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked suspiciously.

"All you ever do is ask questions," Nexus complained. "Can't you trust your friends?"

"I agree with that lady friend of yours," Cid chuckled. "Just get to the computer room through the castle postern. Watch your step!"

Seeing that Sora was about to ask another stupid question, Nexus pulled on his arm and dragged him outside.

"C'mon, let's get going," she said quickly, starting off. She nervously bit her bottom lip. Ansem's computer... This could bring up even more questions that she was NOT going to have fun answering.

But now that Sora knew, Nexus wouldn't be able to hide her past connections much longer. It wouldn't be long before Sora would get the answers thrown in his face. Although, judging by his usual demeanor, there was the possibility that Sora wouldn't catch on right away. Nexus prayed for that and kept on into the bailey, her companions close behind. She liked knowing where everything in this world was.

"Excuse me, are you with the Restoration Committee?" a kind voice asked.

There wasn't anyone in front of them, so they turned around. Again, no one was there, until suddenly three little fairies floated down. They were strangely dressed, each of them different. The supposed leader had a blue eye and a green eye and short brown hair. Another had green eyes and blonde hair. The third had short silver hair and reddish-amber eyes that were startling.

"What's Leon's gang up to?" the leader asked, sweetly smiling up at Sora.

"They've got stuff to do over by the castle postern," Sora replied, confused.

"Scoop!" the blonde cried, pumping her fist in the air and twirling about.

"Huh?" Sora wrinkled his nose at them.

"Let's report," the silver-haired one declared.

"To who?" Donald asked.

"Our leader, of course!" the leader exclaimed.

"Yeah, you know, Malefi--"

The silver-haired one clamped her hand over the blonde's mouth quickly and swiftly. Sora couldn't decide whether he was more suspicious or confused.

"Don't mind her," the silver-haired fairy stated. "I assure you, we come in peace." The blonde nodded, her mouth still covered.

"You're kidding..." the leader said, turning to her friend.

"Problem?" the other said, shoving the blonde away. She crossed her arms, turning her head away. "Okay, fine. You do the talking."

In an instant, she disappeared. The brunette turned back to the four and bowed low. A long ponytail tumbled over her shoulder.

"So sorry about this!" she exclaimed, disappearing as well.

The blonde, now alone, glanced at the four, posed cheerily, and finally disappeared, too.

Donald and Goofy shot each other funny, confused looks and glanced at Sora, who shrugged.

"Ohhh..." Nexus murmured, grinning. The boys looked at her. "They were sooooo cute!" she cried. Sora scrunched his nose at her in disgust, but she ignored him. "I wish _I_ was that adorable! Did you see their clothes? So strange, but cute!! Wonder who they were supposed to be?"

Sighing, Sora only shook his head and walked on.

Nexus' PoV

"Leon!" Sora shouted when we reached the castle's postern. This was all looking much too familiar for my taste...

"Over here!" Aerith shouted back. I raised an eyebrow as we jogged over to her. Didn't know she was capable of shouting that loud.

"You guys found Ansem's computer?" Sora asked when we reached her.

"Uh-huh," Aerith answered, nodding once. "The King is very interested in it."

"The King?" Donald cried.

"He's with Leon."

"We get to see the King!" Donald cheered, dancing about. Goofy joined him in exaltation.

"Hooray!" he shouted. I smirked. Maybe the King and I would actually get to talk.

Staring at his friends, Sora murmured, "Er... Is Riku with them?" When Aerith shook her head, Sora sighed. "Well, at least I can ask the King about him. And that computer might be able to tell us something."

"Good idea!" Aerith agreed. "They're right through there."

She pointed down a small set of stairs that led to an underground hallway. The hallway was built as a maze through the castle, leading to different points. And, of course, one of the points was the computer room. It was one of the most familiar places to me.

.........

After being creeped out several times upon hearing scuttling noises above us but finding nothing, and following multiple battles with Heartless, we finally reached Ansem's old study. It was still torn apart from that fated day. Nothing had been touched, including the portrait of Xehanort.

Sora noticed it right away, too, and he walked over to it, scowling.

"Ansem..." he muttered angrily. I was about to correct him when I remembered he didn't understand the difference yet. The real story.

"Gawrsh, I guess this must be his room," Goofy said, looking around.

"Where's the King?" Donald asked impatiently.

"Hello?" Sora called out into the empty room.

"Hey, you!"

Turning, we saw a girl about my age with my build and almost my hair style. She was taller than me, though, and her eyes were fiery.

"I'm looking for somebody," she said without introducing herself. She looked around the room as she spoke. "Have any of you seen a guy with spiky hair?"

Sora pulled on one of his own spikes, and the girl laughed.

"Spikier."

We shook our heads and Sora shrugged helplessly.

"I'll just take a look around," she decided, starting her way around the room. She threw aside a few books; I couldn't help but smile.

"Need help?" I offered.

"Gladly," she replied with an amused smirk.

Together the two of us tore up the room. While she might've been looking for a way around, I was just tearing everything up as release. It was working.

Suddenly Tifa--as I found out her name was--stopped in front of a suspicious, blank wall. She backed up and kicked it. Some cobwebs came down, but no doors revealed themselves. She shrugged modestly.

"Sorry to bother you," she said, walking back toward the door.

"No bother, ma'am!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said in unison, straightening up.

Before she left, she shot me a grin.

"See ya 'round, Nexus." And she slammed the door behind her.

"So you made it."

Now, as if by magic, Leon was leaning against the wall Tifa had just kicked.

"Leon!" Sora gasped, and the brunette nodded back with a content smile. "Isn't the King with you?"

Leon's smile disappeared as he quickly shushed Sora with a finger to his lips.

"You'll see him soon enough," he answered.

"Hey!" Donald quacked impatiently. Leon smirked.

"Here, this ought to tide you over," he said, pressing his hand to a panel on the wall.

_How can _he_ access that?_ I wondered, sticking out my lower lip in thought. _He must've altered the password, or maybe it was lost in the old data...Ansem will NOT be happy about this..._

The wall disappeared, just like it used to. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

"Ansem's computer room," Leon said.

_If he can access this...then--!_

*~*~*

The party followed Leon into the computer room, all of them eager except Nexus, who was nervously biting her lip. She was pretty worried that if the password into Ansem's computer room had been corrupted, Leon and the others could access files about her and all of those experiments. That would bring up some painful discussions she was trying to avoid.

"This is it!" Sora cried when he saw the giant keyboard. Without hesitation, he bolted over, pressing keys at random. "Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?"

When the computer didn't answer back, Sora pounded on the keys in frustration. Nexus sighed, glancing at the solid metal door. Behind that door was her entire past. It was shut, but for how much longer?

"Easy..." Leon said to Sora, irritated. "You wanna break it?"

"Oh, sorry," Sora said, smiling goofily. "Guess I got a little carried away."

Hearing a scuffling noise from above, Goofy--who was watching Sora intently just moments before--glanced up at the ceiling to see a small, furry, blue creature above them.

"Whoa!" he cried, pointing. The creature seemed to be caught off-guard, too.

"Hmm?" it grumbled, looking down at the group. As it did so, it lost its footing on the ceiling. "Whoa!"

The little monster plopped right onto the keyboard, right in front of the four.

"Get offa there!" Donald yelled, jumping on top of the keyboard as well to chase it off.

"Aw, but it's cute!" Nexus exclaimed, and the creature jumped into her arms. She cradled it.

"Stitch," it said, nuzzling itself into her arms.

"Your name?" When it nodded, she smiled. Donald turned around to say something to Nexus, but suddenly an alarm sounded through the computer room.

"Attention current user. This is a warning," a low, computerized voice declared. "Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action."

"Who's there?" Sora shouted into the air.

"I am the Master Control Program. I oversee this system."

"Where are you?" Sora wrinkled his nose in confusion. Donald, trying to be sneaky, lifted his foot to step off the keyboard, but the alarm only sounded again.

"Donald!" everyone shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry..." he quacked desperately.

"Decision gate reached. You are now under arrest," the voice stated.

"Arrest!?" Sora gasped as Goofy plucked Donald from the keyboard.

Leon, watching this all go on, suddenly realized the computer power system behind the group was starting to glow brightly.

"Run!" he shouted. Nexus, not giving it a second thought, bolted away. But Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who hesitated, were soon locked into place. Slowly, the computer turned their bodies into cubes of processable data. Leon choked on his breath; there was nothing he could do.

"Ah, shit," Nexus muttered, still holding Stitch. "Those idiots don't listen to anybody! They're gonna get themselves killed! Ahhh! What are they going to do without me there?!"

She began to pace the room frantically.

"He's gonna kill me if something happens to him!" she gasped, her eyes widening.

As Nexus muttered to herself, Leon watched her closely. She was weird.

Nexus' PoV

I jumped over to the keyboard, pounding in as many codes as I knew--which wasn't very many, by the way. Surely something would work and allow my boys to return to Hollow Bastion, but nothing did, and I sighed in defeat, stepping away from the computer.

"You seem to know all this well," Leon said suddenly. I jumped, having forgotten he was there.

"Um, not really," I replied nervously.

"No, I mean this town in general." He nodded out the door. "Hollow Bastion."

"Oh, well..." I grimaced a smile, knowing I couldn't lie my way through this easily. "I grew up here, is why."

"Really?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "I've never seen you around before, though. How old are you?"

"Twenty and some odd months."

"So, you'd be a little older than Yuffie, so you would've been in school with us," he stated. I gulped. I probably should've lied my way through this...

"Well, I was...very, very sheltered," I said. "But I was educated, just like you guys. Only in private. I never got to go to a public school."

"Who taught you? Your parents?"

I huffed a sigh. This guy asked too many questions, and I couldn't talk around them!

"Ohhhh, fine," I finally groaned, putting Stitch down. Frowning, I wagged my finger in his face. "Don't you dare tell Sora this, though!" When Leon nodded, I explained, "I actually lived with Ansem the Wise. He schooled me and I lived here--but I don't know much about this lab since I was never around it."

"Were you one of his assistants?" Leon asked. I shook my head.

"Far from it. I was one of his _experiments_."

I guess I must've scared him, because he looked at me with a queer expression and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I lived in that room down there," I told him, pointing out the window, "past that big machine. Only two..._three_ people in the world can access that room. But that door to our right...well, I don't know how it opens."

"Maybe Sora should smash on some keys again," Leon suggested with a wry smile.

"Hardly. I'd rather not go down there." I shuddered. "Bad memories."

*~*~*

Nexus sighed quietly, staring out past the machine.

"Although," she suddenly began again, "I wouldn't mind seeing what's left of it someday."

"Was the room destroyed or something?" Leon asked.

"...Sort of. I mean, not destroyed by when the assistants did their whole thing."

"Who destroyed it?"

"...Me."

"Ah."

Nexus lowered her head, smirking a little, as if amused by the fact that she had torn up some place.

"Anyway, I'd like to see it, but not now," she repeated. "Right now we need to get the boys back."

_But how? _Leon thought, staring at the computer screen.

As if in response, a bright beam of light appeared behind the two. In just a moment, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had materialized before them once more.

"We did it!" Donald cheered.

"You idiots!" Nexus shouted, hugging Sora.

"Where have you been?" Leon demanded, shocked.

"Well, uh..." Sora stepped away from Nexus, thinking. "There's a...world inside this computer, where these, um...programs live, and..."

He continued to stumble over his words, not making any sense.

"...And there's a password, but we don't know it, but then this guy--"

"Okay, you're done," Nexus said, shoving him aside.

Nexus' PoV

"Translation, please?" I then asked Leon, who still looked a little dazed.

"So in other words..." he began. "...Ansem's research data is off-limits unless we know the password."

"I think that's right," Sora said.

"But you've already defeated Ansem..."

"Gawrsh, maybe we'll never find the password," Goofy declared.

"Not true. Just 'cause he's dead doesn't mean there isn't still stuff about him," I said quickly. They couldn't give up. After all, Ansem--the real Ansem--was still alive.

"That means...this is all a wild goose chase," Leon said, frustrated.

"You're chasing what, now?"

We all whipped around to see Tifa standing there, hands on her hips. She smirked at me and said, "Well, well! A hidden room! Guess I'd better take another look around."

Tossing her hair around with her head, she walked out of the lab with great, purposeful strides.

"Let's follow her," I said, trotting after her. Sora, Donald, and Goofy didn't respond, but I could tell by their footsteps that they listened.

"She just won't give up..." Sora murmured when we entered Ansem's study. I didn't know that it could be this messy, but somehow Tifa made it even worse.

"And neither will we!" Donald insisted.

"C'mon, we've gotta look for that password!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Right," Sora agreed, nodding. "We made a promise to Tron."


	16. Chapter 16:title too long to fit:

Chapter 16: Black, White, with Shades of Grey (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=dRA1olJu1YA)

Memo: I think it will be much more fast-paced, now that all the tedious stuff is done. Welcome to the second half, minna~! Thank you for reading~ Remember! I'm still accepting questions~!

*~*~*

"Excuse me."

It was official--Tifa had torn through every single thing possible in Ansem's study. No book lay untouched, no paper unobserved. Now the last piece was a portrait of the man himself. Tifa moved that, too. And yet there was nothing she was looking for. Sighing, shrugging her shoulders, throwing her hands into the air, she turned around and gave up for good, leaving the room without another word. She left the other four staring at the scribbles on the wall the portrait had revealed.

"What's this doodle?" Sora asked his friends. Nexus didn't even know for sure.

"Hollow...Main...Security...Tron..." Donald mumbled, trying to read anything he could. "Door to..."

"Looks like a diagram or somethin'," Goofy decided.

"Door...to...darkness?" Donald said out loud. Sora's face lit up.

"Oh!" Excited, he jumped and pointed to each letter. "D--T--D!"

"DTD!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

_This is what they were looking for?_ Nexus wondered.

"What's up?" Leon asked, entering the study upon hearing the commotion.

"Look at this!" Sora cried, pointing. "This must be the dataspace! The DTD. See? The Door To Darkness!"

"Do you even know what a dataspace is, Sora?" Nexus asked, laughing at his ignorance. He pouted.

"What do you know," Leon said upon further inspection. "But...that still leaves the password."

"Say, fellas, did somebody mention the Door To Darkness?"

Everyone's heads whipped around to see a small, hooded figure in the doorway. Despite the dark appearance, though, nobody was at a loss for his identity.

"Your Majesty!" everyone but Leon cried.

The King quickly shushed the group, peering over his shoulder down the hallway. He shut the door swiftly, then unhooded himself. But before he could do anything else, Donald nearly tackled him in a hug, then Goofy joined in and picked both of them up.

"Long time no see!" Sora cried, grinning.

"Shh!" The King glanced back toward the computer room entrance, still trapped in Goofy's arms. "The Organization might be listening!"

Nodding, Sora put a finger to his lips; Nexus shoved him, giggling. Mickey, after finally being released, got tackled by Donald, but this time he pushed him away and looked around cautiously.

"You mentioned the Door To Darkness?" he asked.

"Uh, yes, sir!" Goofy exclaimed, standing up straight. "Ya see, we're lookin' for the secret password."

"Password?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy all sighed.

"Oh, I guess you mean like a code," the King finally declared.

Leon smiled, Nexus giggle-snorted.

"Well, the Door To Darkness can only be opened by the seven princesses. There's Snow White, Jasmine, and Belle..."

"Of course..." Leon murmured, walking back toward the computer room.

"What're you trying to do?" the King asked when he was gone.

"With that password, we can get access to Ansem's research data," Sora explained.

"So that means you might be able to find out where he is!" the King exclaimed.

There was a pause, and Nexus flushed bright red.

"Stop jokin' around, Your Majesty," Sora said. "We already defeated Ansem. You know that."

But the King only crossed his arms and replied, "Looks like I've got a lot of explainin' to do."

"We're listening, Your Majesty!" Donald quacked just as Leon entered the room once more.

"Okay...but first, I've got a question..." Sora began, not noticing his friend.

"Hey, isn't Tron waiting for you guys?" Leon stated.

The three boys looked at him, then back to their king.

"Don't worry, I'm not goin' anywhere," the mouse assured them. "If those Heartless attack, I'll stand and fight with everybody here."

"Yeah...we will, too," Sora murmured. He really would've rather stayed and found out what in the world the King was talking about...

"Then let's talk more later."

"_We _can talk _now_," Nexus said with a smirk. The King smiled.

"Yep, I've been wanting to talk to you!" he exclaimed, making her blush a little with pride. He then turned to the boys again. "I'll see ya when you get back. Oh! One more thing. Let me give your clothes some new powers, Sora."

"Really!?" Sora gasped.

"You bet! You've done so much--just consider it a thank-you present."

"Thanks, Your Majesty! We're heading off to see Tron now, so wait here for us, okay?"

"I will, Sora. And remember--be careful!"

Nexus' PoV

As I smiled at the King, I leaned on Ansem's old desk. The King smiled back, facing me. He made me feel...tall.

"...Sune, isn't it?" he suddenly said.

"Nexus," I corrected him. There was a faint giggle in the back of my mind.

"Right, sorry, Nexus." He smiled bright again. "I always forget which is which."

"It's alright. You're definitely not the only one."

A pause, and then...

"So, Nexus, do you know where Ansem is?"

I sighed. "No, but he's still alive." _He had _better_ be..._

"That much I coulda guessed. He's determined, that's for sure!"

"Yeah..."

Another brief pause. I could this was awkward for him. There was simply too much to talk about.

"How is Sora holding up?" he asked.

"It depends on what you mean," I replied, shrugging. "I think he's fine. I mean, if he's upset, he isn't showing it. And he's terrible at keeping secrets." I grinned as the King nodded. "And he's held up well in battling, too. So I guess he's okay."

"He does have you to protect him," His Majesty pointed out. I nodded, closing my eyes. _But for how much longer?_

"What about the Organization?" he then asked. "How much trouble have they been giving you?"

"Actually, zero to none, basically." When he gave me a confused glance, I shrugged again. "A few of them are my friends, and the others thought I was on their side for ages. Unfortunately, the few allies I have keep leaving the Organization. Like Roxas, and Axel..."

"They thought _you _were one of them?!" He sounded shocked. "How did that happen?"

"Ansem. He made a deal with me. If I could eliminate the traitors, then I could be freed of this awful curse binding me." Another confused look. "Well, I suppose it's not truly a curse, but still. I am anything but free. I would love to be...normal."

"So that might mean that he's with the Organization now, undercover!" the King exclaimed.

"Yeah, possibly. But weren't you, too? Wouldn't you have known? I mean, what about Riku?"

"Riku?"

"Yeah." I frowned. "I saw him a while ago, and he looked like Ansem...the Heartless, I mean."

"Right. But that had to do with a man named DiZ...! Oh!" The King grinned a bit sheepishly. "Same guy, huh?"

"Yup." I glanced toward the entrace to the computer lab. "Your Majesty, what is happening to Riku?"

"...I'm sorry. I made a promise not to tell anyone," the King answered.

"Really? Well, then can you promise me not to tell Sora about what I know?"

"What do you know?

"Everything. Except this fiasco with Riku."

"...Well, I guess I can promise ya that, too! But...since you know everything, what're you going to do about Sora?"

"What about him? He's so naive, Your Majesty," I laughed. "He can't figure much out on his own. Someone would have to tell him about Ansem the Wise. And I'm not unzipping these lips."

"Gosh, I guess you're right."

The final pause. I hated the sound of silence.

"Well, Nexus, what are you going to do after?"

"Huh?" I perked up.

"I mean, when you're free. You can do whatever you want! What will you do?"

"...I..."

I couldn't answer. I couldn't answer! I wanted to scream. The one thing I wanted was to be with Axel, and I had a feeling even then that his situation with Roxas would become nothing but worse. But I wanted to save him, to let him be normal, too. Then we could be normal together. Maybe.

I was starting to feel bad for not answering, so I start stumbling over my thoughts.

"I...umm...I want to have kids?"

DAMMIT! I AM SO STUPID~!

I could feel my face starting to turn red, so I immediately turned and shuffled through loose papers on Ansem's desk.

"I mean--I think they're cute and everything," I quickly explained, wanting to rewind the last minute and a half. "I regret not having siblings, and--"

"I think you'd be a great mother, Nexus."

My words halted in my throat, like vocal whiplash.

"Really?"

"Of course! You've been taking care of Sora and his friends, right? That takes strength and courage and a big heart, which you obviously have."

_Except I am only doing this for Axel, I'd only fight anyway, and I only have half of a heart,_ I wanted to reply.

Suddenly, saving my butt from further humiliation, a strange noise came from the lab area.

"Oh! Maybe they're back!" I cried, jumping up quickly and running in.

Dammit. I am so stupid.

*~*~*

The King didn't follow Nexus into the lab; he could sense her embarrassment, and he decided it would be best to leave her alone for a while to collect her thoughts. Besides, someone ought to check out the town, if the boys really were back.

But they weren't quite yet, so Nexus talked to Leon a while longer until they returned.

"Well, that's that!" Sora exclaimed upon arrival.

"Look," Leon said, pointing to the computer monitor. On the screen there were little dancing sprites of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Cute," Nexus muttered, a little jealous.

"Tron...hang in there," Sora murmured to himself.

"So, where do we start?" Leon asked, readying the computer. The image changed into a search engine.

"I know! Let's access the DTD!"

As Leon began to do just that, Sora casually glanced around the room, peeking into the hallway.

"The King's checking the situation in town," Leon said, as if reading the kid's mind. "He'll be back soon, so don't worry." Suddenly he stopped. "Hey, look, it's asking for a password."

"That's easy," Goofy declared. "It's..."

"Sora!" Sora shouted. Leon started typing again.

"Donald!" Donald wakked.

"Goofy!" Goofy ended.

"That's...to the point," Leon said, typing it all up.

"Well?" Sora asked as he hit the "enter" key.

"That did it," he replied. "We're in. I have to go into town. Need to see what that last shakeup did."

"You're not gonna check out the data? It wasn't exactly easy to get!"

"I'm coming right back. Hey, Sora--why don't you get started on loading the data and copying it down?" Sora gave him a "are you really serious right now?" look. "It's just a few keystrokes. Easy, right?" Walking out of the room, Leon clapped Sora on the shoulder, then waved.

"I can help you," Nexus offered, but Sora was already tinkering with the keyboard.

"Did it work?" Donald asked literally seconds later.

"Hey, these things take time, okay?" Sora whimpered. Nexus rolled her eyes, gazing out the lab window. Just past there...

"Whoa..." Sora gasped. "It's doing something!"

"Huh?" Donald and Nexus both said, both for different reasons. Nexus was just in disbelief that Sora could be so naive about technology...

"I think it wants to know what we wanna know," Goofy said.

"Riku and Kairi!" Sora cried, typing in their names. The screen began to load, but it ended in the words "Data Error" in bright red caps.

"No way..." Sora threw himself away from the screen, frowning deeply. "Even Ansem's computer doesn't know..."

"Sora..." Nexus murmured, then stopped as Goofy moved to type something.

"Whatcha doing?" Donald asked. He didn't sound worried.

"I thought I'd ask the computer if it can tell us about them Nobodies," Goofy replied.

Sora turned and shot a dirty look at Nexus. Suddenly he hated her. He just KNEW she knew something about his friends. She definitely had something to do with it. Ever since they met that guy in Twilight Town...

But the actual appearance of data distracted Sora and intrigued him enough to make him walk over to the computer again.

"What's this?" he wondered out loud. A grey box with the Nobody symbol was on the screen.

Suddenly a red box popped up again.

"The data is corrupt," a computerized voice stated.

"What!?" Donald quacked angrily.

"How about the Organization?" Goofy suggested, typing. "There!" A progress window popped up, then another red one.

"The data is corrupt."

"Stupid computer!" Sora growled, slamming his fists on the keyboard. The windows shuffled around.

"Sora!" Goofy cried.

Suddenly a window with data popped up. There was a picture of a middle-aged blonde-haired man. Nexus glanced at the screen once, then went sickly pale. Her hands started to sweat. Sora noticed her nervousness.

"Who's this guy?" Sora demanded.

"Well, I see ya got things workin'!"

Nexus' PoV

Seeing as how twenty minutes ago I kind of hated him, when the King entered, I was relieved. Had Sora really noticed my expression? Not that I could've hid it. Ansem...

"Oh, Your Majesty!" the doofuses all shouted, and the King shushed them again.

"Good goin'," he said, walking over to us. "The computer should tell us the things we need to know."

"But it keeps on sayin' the data inside's all ker-skuffled," Goofy told him. Gosh, how did Goofy have a career again?

"All we got is a picture of some guy we don't know," Sora added, his eyes glancing at me.

The King, as I feared, recognized the man and jumped in surprise.

"Ansem the Wise!" he exclaimed. The boys exchanged glances, both confused and amused.

"Come on, are you teasing us again?" Sora asked with a crooked grin.

"Did you forget what Ansem looked like, Your Majesty?" Donald said.

"Of course I do! And this is him! I'm positive!" the King shouted, pointing with enthusiasm.

"Huh?" Donald croaked.

Suddenly, Sora grabbed the King's arm roughly and began dragging him away.

"Sora!?" I snapped, but he ignored me. Probably still angry.

"Excuse me? Could you come this way, please?" he told the King.

Soon we were back in Ansem's old study, standing in front of the portrait of Xehanort Tifa moved earlier. Sora finally let go of the King and pointed haughtily at the painting.

"Look, THIS is Ansem," he declared, confident. "You know, the guy we all worked reeeally hard to defeat?"

"Oh, that's right--I never finished explaining," the King said. He glanced at me, and I shrugged. I was NOT going to help him. No way.

"What?" Donald prompted.

"Well, the man in the picture is definitely the one who tried to take over Kingdom Hearts--the one you fellas defeated," the mouse began, and the boys nodded. "But, what you actually fought was his Heartless. Ya see, he wasn't really Ansem. He just went around telling everybody that he was."

"You mean..." Sora started, but never finished his sentence. Donald and Goofy made little contemplating noises, then all three jumped.

"Whaaaat?" they shouted.

"We went through all that trouble to defeat an impostor?" Sora cried.

"Yep. A fake. But he still had to be stopped."

"Aw, I can't believe it..." Donald groaned, bowing his head in shame. I don't understand it, though. They still did their job. It's not like they did anything wrong.

"Uh, I'm kinda confused," Goofy said. "If he's a fake, then what happened to the real Ansem?"

"Well, that's just what I'm tryin' to figure out," the King replied. "Ansem the Wise should know all about Organization XIII's plans, and what's been happening to the worlds. I'm pretty sure he'll give us some help. Ya know, I came close to finding him once..."

"You'll find him, I'm sure," I told him, and the King smiled.

"Hmm?" Goofy looked at me, intrigued.

"Don't tell me there's more...I'm lost enough as it is!" Sora snapped.

"Well, let's see," Goofy said. "Some feller named Ansem, who wasn't really Ansem, became a Heartless. Does that mean a Nobody got created when that happened, too?"

"Yup! And that Nobody is the leader of the Organization."

"Whaaaat?" Again with the unison anguish...

But the King ignored them and stared at the portrait.

"I know I've met this fake Ansem before, and I've seen the leader of Organization XIII, too," he said. "Hmm, kinda felt like bein' around the same fella."

"You're tellin' me," I murmured under my breath. Sora, thankfully, didn't hear me.

"So, where did you meet this guy?" he instead asked His Majesty.

"Gosh...I can't remember. Ansem the Wise--the real Ansem--must know the imposter's true identity. That's why I've got to find him and ask him about it." The King suddenly smiled at me. "Because the person I know that knows refuses to tell me."

Blushing, I replied, "Eh, well, you need to see the man again anyway. I'm just giving you something to talk about."

Again, Sora was ignoring me.

"You...!" he growled, staring at Xehanort's picture. "You started all of this! Because of you, Riku and Kairi... Oh! Your Majesty, do you know where Riku is?"

"He's..." The King drooped his head, his eyes at the ground. "I'm sorry. I can't help."

"Really, Your Majesty?" Sora asked, trotting around into the King's face. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry, Sora."

"What about Kairi? Organization XIII might've kidnapped her."

The King suddenly got all his energy back and whirled around, shocked.

"Oh, no!" He stared at the painting once more. "Sora, Nexus, Donald, Goofy. I was plannin' to go get help from Ansem the Wise. But--now I know I forgot the most important thing. Helping others should always come before asking others for help. We're safe and sound--and free to choose! So there's no reason we shouldn't choose to help our friends."

When we nodded, the King threw his short arms out. "Let's look for Riku and Kairi together."

We were about to reply when a loud explosion interrupted the party.

"Outside!" Sora shouted, gazing toward the hallway door.

"Sounds like we gotta start by helpin' out here!" His Majesty said, and we set out into the corridors as quickly as we could.

*~*~*

It was one thing to be racing down the hallway to help their friends. It was another thing to run into their enemies and having to help them, too.

"Heartless! Leave the white ones," Maleficent commanded her fleet of Heartless, which were losing to the Nobodies they were fighting. "Turn your attention to Sora and his friends!"

"Uh-oh!" Goofy exclaimed as the Heartless began to approach them. Luckily, they were beyond prepared, and the enemies were defeated--both the Nobodies and the Heartless--in no time flat.

"Where's Maleficent?" came a familiar voice. The four (the King had run on ahead) turned to see the three fairies from before flying toward them.

"Looks like she ran away," Sora replied.

"Well, that was PRET-ty lame of her," the blonde said, pouting.

"I guess we picked the wrong side," the silver-haired one agreed.

Swiftly and methodically, the three fairies turned in toward one another and started babbling. The others exchanged glances and waited for them to finish. But as they carried on, it seemed like they were arguing, and they definitely weren't getting anywhere with it.

"Umm, hey...if you're looking to pick sides, why don't you pick Leon's?" Sora suggested. "They can always use help."

The girls whipped around abruptly.

"Does this Leon have any treasure?" the brunette asked slowly.

"Yeah, lots of stuff!" Donald replied. Sora and Goofy looked at each other, frowning.

"Perfect!" the blonde cheered.

"Come on," the silver-haired one said, and they started to leave.

"Who ARE you?" Sora asked at last.

"Oh, we're nothing worth mentioning," the brunette insisted.

"Just three treasure fanatics," the silver-haired added.

"Later, taters!" the blonde cried, making a peace sign with her fingers cheerfully. And just as quickly as they came, the fairies poofed into thin air.

"Did Leon...really have any treasure?" Sora asked Donald, and by the snicker the duck gave, Sora knew he lied.

"Sweet!" Nexus cried, dancing for joy. "Now they're on _our_ side! Congrats, Donald!" She patted the duck on the head childishly. "You weren't totally useless for once!"

And before he could reply, she skipped off toward the postern.

.........

"We don't have time for you!" Sora shouted at the Dusks in the postern. With a powerful swing and help from his friends, he destroyed them all and continued on his way. Then a burst of light blocked his path, and a man appeared, wielding the longest sword any of them had ever seen.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped. He'd never seen anyone like this man before. He had long, grey hair; deep, hateful eyes; and wings on his back. He was certainly original; even Nexus was intimidated.

"Sora, it's Sephiroth!" Donald quacked.

"Ain't Sephiroth the one who's supposed to be the dark part of Cloud's heart?" Goofy asked. Nexus stood there in shock, wide-eyed. She didn't want to piss this guy off and end up as a kabob with his sword.

"Did Cloud tell you that?" Sephiroth asked, amused more than anything. "Then he must understand now."

"Just what are you gonna do to him?" Sora cried.

"Nothing. Cloud is the one who hungers for Darkness."

"He said he's got a score to settle with you."

"I see..." Sephiroth turned and began to walk away. "He wants to meet me again. Then I should give him what he wants." He began to float into the air, glowing ominously. "That last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out."

With those last words, he disappeared, leaving a chill over the group.

"C'mon, let's go find the others," Sora finally said, and they continued.

For the first time in his journey, Sora finally realized how different things had become this time around, and how childish things seemed before.

Nexus' PoV

We had just left the postern after meeting Sephiroth--who by the way, was SCARY--and we then came upon Leon and Aerith. I wondered why the girl was there, since there was no muscle on her to help fight. But when I saw Leon get knocked in the face a good one, Aerith healed him immediately with such agile quickness that she gained some respect points in my book.

"Sora! Behind you!" she shouted to us, pointing.

Just when I thought we'd killed all the damned things, more Nobodies showed up again, this time with pinkish scarves and big hips. Were they trying to be me?

Sora and I turned to fight them, and he mistakenly reached out to grab one and nail it good. It stopped, grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged him away, twirling him around like a doll, and eventually it threw him a good few yards. He landed poorly, but Aerith healed him.

Then I realized: these Nobodies belonged to Demyx.

"You okay?" I asked Sora, holding out a hand. He shoved it out of his face.

"Yeah, fine," he growled, running off.

I pouted, watching him struggle to fight the Nobodies off.

_All these Nobodies make me wonder if the Organization isn't around..._ I thought, frowning. _Maybe even Axel._

Soon, thanks to lots of magic, the Nobodies were gone.

"The King's in the bailey," Leon shouted to us. "You better head over there!"

"Got it!" Sora shouted back, and we proceeded.

I thought I was ready for anything.


	17. Chapter 17: Duty

Chapter 17: Duty (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=Y_BL_DV5waU)

Memo: lol, I could totally see this happen. I wish I could animate this scene, too. Oh well. Use your imagination! Thanks for reading, y'all!!

*~*~*

Yuffie tossed her giant ninja star toward more Heartless with ease, but she was really getting tired. There had to have been thousands of these mechanical-looking Heartless in the world. She had seen too many, had fought too many.

The impact of her shuriken in her own hand sent her falling to her bum, exhausted. But she had nothing to fear; soon Aerith was at her side, healing her and cheering her on.

Stitch was also in the fray, shooting his alien laser guns at any enemy he could see. He was there to protect himself, and to protect Nexus. Flying past him, Paine darted by, followed by a small horde of Heartless. Though one swatted at her, she knocked it in the head, and with the help of Yuna and Rikku sent it flying off the cliff. The cousins hi-fived, but the party soon died at the sight of more aggressive Heartless headed their way.

Finally, Cloud and Leon were there, standing back to back on a cliffside, swords in hand, surrounded by Heartless.

"Think you can handle this many?" Leon asked the blonde.

"Well..." Cloud began. "Might be tough if one more shows up."

Leon smirked. "Then that'll have to be the one I take care of."

"What, you're fighting too?"

After the sarcastic comment, the two leapt into battle, destroying Heartless in bunches at a time.

.........

Meanwhile, Sora and the others were just arriving in the bailey.

"Leon, everybody--hang in there!" he murmured to himself, though the others were thinking the same thing.

Without saying another word, the four rushed ahead to find their friends, but a sudden blur of black jumped into their path. It was King Mickey, and he held out his arms to the side.

"Okay, fellas, you've gotta go find Riku and Kairi!" he exclaimed, not looking at them.

_I hate being referred to as a "fella"..._ Nexus thought, frowning a little.

"But Leon and the others are friends too!" Sora insisted.

"Don't worry. There's already lotsa help here. We'll take care of this fight."

"But...I promised Leon!"

At this nearly pathetic expression of guilt and loyalty, Donald and Goofy softened, and Nexus wanted to just push on through and ignore the King for once. Just because he was royalty didn't make him perfect, right?

"Donald! Goofy! Nexus!"

Each straightened up at their name.

"Take Sora and get goin'!"

"Riku, Kairi...give me a little time, okay?" Sora half-whispered to himself, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

The other three exchanged worried looks, then Nexus smirked, and the other two nodded, immediately understanding. It was weird to be on the same wavelength as them, Nexus decided.

"Your Majesty!" Donald shouted.

"We understand," Goofy said. "We'll go search for Riku and Kairi!"

"Right. Watch for danger!" the King said, distracted.

"You be careful, too!" Donald quacked.

"Wait, you guys!" Sora cried, desperate. He looked at King Mickey, but the mouse was still scouting the area, his back to the others.

"C'mon, Sora, it's for your own good!" Nexus insisted, smiling goofily.

"You're comin' with us whether ya want to or not!" Goofy added.

"C'mon, Sora! Ya gotta be good!" Donald shouted, and he shot a big wink at Sora. Sora sucked in his breath quickly, catching on.

"Gotcha," he mumbled quietly.

"Well then, skedaddle!" Goofy cried.

"Thank you," Sora mouthed, nodding.

"Let's go!" Donald shouted, and the four took off, running right past the King and into the cliffs below.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Sora shouted back to him.

"Hope you can forgive us!" Goofy said, saluting. The other three followed suit.

"You'll come to thank us eventually!" Nexus called out cheerfully.

The King sighed, smiling.

Nexus' PoV

What felt like only seconds earlier, I was feeling like I could handle anything, especially after meeting Sephiroth. Ah, man, he was scary.

But I was hardly expecting the next fall of events, for when we rounded the corner, Demyx was standing there, back to us.

"Demyx!" I cried, running forward. He jumped, turned around, then grinned at me.

"Nexus!" he exclaimed, then tensed up when he saw the others behind me. I pouted. "Hey, you guys are looking lively," he told them.

"Scram!" Donald snapped. I wanted to kick him.

"Didn't we catch you messing around in the Underworld?" Sora asked. "How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?"

Demyx cowered; I slapped a hand to my forehead in frustration. Thank you for proving their point...

"I bet you can't even fight," Sora taunted, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but we can!" Donald shouted.

"What are you guys DOING?!" I screamed. They were totally picking a fight with this dude, a guy who had actually been NICE to us!

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Demyx insisted, wagging a finger at us.

To my horror, my friends brought out their weapons, and Demyx turned around quickly, muttering to himself.

"Who is this kook?" Sora asked.

"My _friend_, you idiot!" I snapped.

"Please, _this guy_?"

Well, why wouldn't he be? He helped me before, and he helped them, too!

"Remember, the Organization's made up of Nobodies," Goofy said.

"Right--no hearts!" Sora exclaimed. Demyx whirled around again.

"Oh, we do too have hearts!" Demyx whined. I wish. That would've made my life so much easier. "Don't be mad..."

"You can't trick us!" Donald quacked.

Suddenly Demyx's cutesy face went stony serious.

"Silence, traitor," he growled, pointing at Sora.

"Oh come on," I whined, slumping. "You guys aren't seriously going to fight, are you?!"

"Nexus, c'mon!" Sora said to me. "He's part of the Organization! They're our enemies, remember?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Hey! She's my friend, too, kid!" Demyx shouted angrily, summoning his weapon, basically a sitar-like battering ram.

"She was my friend first!"

"No I wasn't!" I shouted, stamping my foot. "This is ridiculous! You can't expect me to choose between you two!"

"You have to!"

I glared at the two of them, especially Sora.

"Stupid!" I snarled at him. "He helped us before! Why did you have to pick this fight?!"

"He's one of them, remember?"

"Hey, I don't wanna do this, but I will to exist!" Demyx retorted, his normally calm eyes fiesty.

"See? He's trying to kill me!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, putting my hands over my ears as they argued.

Beyond ridiculous it was. Beyond it.

I had to think really hard about this. Here were my choices:

1. I could help Demyx. After all, he was my friend first, and he had never done anything wrong until this very moment. In fact, he helped me get to Axel again. He was nothing but nice, and Sora was being a huge jerk...

...or 2. I could help Sora. Despite Demyx being my friend, he was still loyal to the Organization, which I was still trying to destroy. And also, protecting Sora wasn't my idea--it was Axel's.

That settled it. Axel's idea. It had to come first. I had to help Sora.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Demyx!" I cried, tears in my eyes. He looked surprised, but like he understood it.

"Yeah, me too," he said sadly. "I guess I understand. You really like him, don't you?"

At first I thought he was talking about Sora, and I was about to laugh in his face, but then I got that he was talking about Axel, and I nodded, a single tear escaping. I wiped it away quickly.

"I've got to help Sora," I declared, "but I won't fight you. Sora, I'll heal you if you need it. Just say the word."

"Right," he muttered, and he dove right into Demyx.

*~*~*

Sora had a lot of anger pulsing inside of him at that point. He decided it would be best if he let it all out on Demyx, who was actually a pretty formidable opponent.

He was angry that the King refused to help him out when it came to Riku. He was even angrier that Kairi was kidnapped.

But what really made him steamed was that Nexus was hiding things. A lot of things.

She grew up in this town, and she didn't seem surprised about the whole Ansem's Heartless thing. In fact, she knew more than the King did. She probably even knew of the real Ansem's whereabouts.

But instead of just telling them and making life easier, she had to hide it. Everything.

Sora beat into Demyx, feeling a little tired. Suddenly his body glowed a soft green, and his strength was renewed.

_Nexus,_ he thought, growling. _She acts so nice, but it's not because of us. She's protecting us because she has to, not because she wants to._

Sora knew there was so much more to the story that Nexus was refusing to share with them. She may not know anything about Kairi--nobody seemed to--but she knew about Riku, and she knew about Ansem the Wise. She knew about the computer lab and this entire town. She knew about the Organization.

The only thing stopping Sora from confronting her about all of this was the nice little handgun resting on her right thigh. He was truly afraid of her. He knew she could kill him if he prompted her enough. There was a little switch in her head that he couldn't control, and she barely could, and he didn't want to risk his life like that anyway.

Sora stared into the cool eyes of his foe, and he frowned deeply, his nose scrunching up in anger. This guy, Demyx, was supposed to be Nexus' friend. All because of that time in the Coliseum. He took her to see her other friend. Axel.

_I wonder about that guy,_ Sora thought to himself as he began to deal out his final blows to Demyx. _About Axel and Nexus._

He thought maybe there was some sort of relationship there under the surface. But it was unlikely, seeing as how Axel was a Nobody without a heart to feel.

_Maybe that's why she's unhappy, _Sora wondered. _I guess I can relate._

His anger subsiding and his pride welling up, Sora smacked Demyx a nice one in the head, and the Nobody fell to the ground, his sitar morphing into a puddle of water.

"Ugh," Demyx groaned, completely weakened. "Nexus."

"I'm sorry, okay?" she whimpered, tears choking her voice.

"It's okay, I told you I understand." He smiled kindly at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. Sora noticed they had the same color of eyes. "Nexus, you need to get out of here while you still can."

"What? Why?"

"Xemnas is here." Her face paled. "If he finds out you're here, he'll destroy you, and then the others."

"I...understand."

Demyx smiled one last time before he began to fade away.

"Aw, Nexus, I'll miss you," he laughed. "I always liked you a lot, y'know? Maybe if I had a heart, things would've been different."

Blushing, Nexus beamed at him.

"I'll miss you, too," she murmured. "Goodbye, Demyx."

That goofy smile still planted on his face, Demyx faded away completely. Sora's rage came back for a moment.

"Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" he snarled, shouting into the quiet air.

"Hey, Sora! Don't antagonize them!" Donald shouted.

"Yeah, we gotta go help our friends out first," Goofy agreed.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Then let's go!" Donald said. "Nexus, you should probably get going!"

"Yeah," she mouthed, unable to speak.

"Aha! There you are!"

They all froze in fear as the King marched down the steps, frowning deeply. When he reached them, they hung their heads like guilty criminals. His Majesty sighed.

"You sure have lotsa friends to help," he said, smiling. "So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" they all cried, standing up straight.

"I'll see you back at the ship, Sora," Nexus said, her voice cracking. Sora nodded once curtly, still a little angry.

Nexus' PoV

Suddenly a loud crash sounded out somewhere above us, and we all looked around to see what the commotion was. I was hoping it wasn't Xemnas, since I didn't really feel like dying that day.

"Look out!" Goofy shouted, nearly tackling the King. Then I saw the second most horrifying thing I've ever lived to see.

A huge rock, almost the size of Donald's whole body, nailed Goofy square in the head. He hit the ground hard and slid across the tile, slamming into one side of the cliff.

"Goofy!" I shrieked, and we all ran to his side.

"No..." the King gasped.

"Hey! You're the King's Captain!" Donald quacked in Goofy's ear, shaking his shoulders. "You gotta get up!"

"C'mon, wake up!" Sora cried.

"Goofy..." I pleaded, kneeling next to him.

"I'm sorry about the ice cream!" (WTF?)

"Goofy...?" the King murmured, but the King's Captain didn't move. My heart froze in horror. Oh gosh.

"Ohhhh...Goofy..." Donald wailed, resting his head on Goofy's chest.

"This is not happening..." Sora gasped, looking pale. "It can't be happening... It can't..."

I stood up, tears welling up. I couldn't help him. I had to leave and I couldn't help him.

I ran.

I've done this thousands of times before probably, but I've never run like that before. Every ounce of my body felt like gelatin, hard to get moving, like I was underwater. My legs were wobbly and unsteady, but somehow I managed to press on, to keep running.

Goofy was gone now, too...how could that have happened?!

I also had helped murder one of my only friends.

_This is all your fault, Xehanort! _my mind shouted. _If you had just done what you were told..._

I kept repeating Demyx's last words in my mind over and over.

If he had had a heart...things would've been different.

Well, yes, they would've, because none of this would be happening, I might be free, and life would be merry.

But despite the personal hell and public humiliation, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

After all, I had Axel and Roxas.

And Sora. Even though he probably hated me.

_Dammit,_ I thought as I rushed into the ship. _He must hate me right now. I don't want things to be this way!_ I started bawling. _Doesn't anybody like me?_

Well, I guess Demyx did.

Oh!

Wait, this was good! If Demyx could remember love, Axel could, too! Then that would mean there was still hope!

I continued to cry, but my happiness started to overwhelm my sadness, and I plopped onto the window seat, shaking.

Still hope.

*~*~*

"Are you okay?" the King asked Sora as he came rushing into the Crystal Fissure. He had just fought through tons of Heartless with his friends, but it wasn't the same. There was no Goofy alongside him to look out for him anymore. He just couldn't grasp that.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but..." Sora looked down at his shoes.

"Ohh, Goofy..." Donald said sadly. Everyone was quiet.

"Hey, fellas!"

Sora thought maybe he was imagining things. He thought his memory was messing with him. But when he saw the looks on the King's and Donald's faces, he knew the voice was real. And when he whirled around, there was Goofy , jumping up and down and waving his arms.

"Goofy!" the three cried, shocked--but in the best way possible.

"Ya know, that really hurt!" Goofy said when he reached them, rubbing his head.

"Aw, Goofy!" King Mickey said, hugging his dear friend.

"Gawrsh, Yer Majesty, I get bumped on the head all the time," Goofy said. Sora chuckled a little, beyond relieved.

Donald, however, was beyond angry, and he stomped over to Goofy. With nice momentum, he swung his staff into Goofy's shin. Goofy howled with pain, jumping around.

"That hurt, too," he whimpered.

"Don't you ever do that again!" the duck cried, his anger quickly subsiding.

_Wait until Nexus finds out!_ Sora thought, then his face darkened. _Nexus..._

.........

"What's this place?" Goofy asked.

Sora opened his eyes, but everything was still dark as night. He looked around, and the only objects he could clearly see were his friends.

"It must be the Realm of Darkness!" he exclaimed, not seeing a sign of life anywhere. After all the Nobodies he had just met, this had to be where they were. "Kairi! Riku!" he shouted desperately, but no one responded.

"Who's there!?" Donald snapped.

Sora turned, and at first it seemed like Donald had really lost his marbles for good. But upon closer examination, Sora realized there was indeed someone standing there; he was near invisible because of his black, Organization XIII-style cloak.

Donald ran over to the man, but he left in a flash of darkness, leaving behind a small, white box.

"What is it?" Donald wondered, holding it up.

"Are ya sure you wanna open..." Goofy started, but Donald opened the box. "...that?"

Inside the box was a photo and an ice cream bar.

"Gawrsh, it's the gang from Twilight Town," Goofy said as Donald took the ice cream. "There's Hayner, Pence, Olette...and, uh, um..."

"Roxas," Sora finished for him, the name foreign to him, but familiar at the same time.

"You know him?" Donald asked, waving the ice cream around.

"No... The name just popped into my head..." Sora pointed to the blonde in the photo with his pinky finger. "This is Roxas."

"Are you sure you wanna eat..." Donald tasted the ice cream without hesitation. "...that?"

Donald quickly pulled the treat out, looking astounded.

"Salty..." he murmured. "No...sweet!"

Suddenly the ice cream bar glowed and began to float into the air.

"Not yet!" Sora cried after he finished opening the gateway. "I gotta look for Kairi!"

But he could feel his body leaving this place.

The next time he opened his eyes, he saw the inside of his own ship, and Nexus, who had been waiting the whole time; her eyes were red from crying, but her face lit up when she saw them as if nothing was wrong.

What an understatement.


	18. Chapter 18: Is This Love?

Chapter 18: Is This Love? (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=0FMRBBhOe3k)

Memo: YEAH! Been waiting for this a long, long time...Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Nexus' PoV

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw all three of them back on the ship. All three of them! Jumping to my feet, I raced over to Goofy and tackled-hugged him.

"Goofy!" I cried, tears wanting to start up again. "You're okay!"

"Gawrsh, I get knocked on the head all the time!" he said.

Laughing, I pulled away from him. I wish Demyx could come back that easily.

I glanced at Donald, and he looked genuinely happy, too. But Sora's face hardened when our eyes met.

"You're mad at me," I said sadly, my smile disappearing.

"You bet I am," he growled through clenched teeth. He walked over to start the ship, and soon it was on autopilot to the next land. "You wouldn't believe all the stuff we just found out."

"Like what?"

"About Xemnas and Xehanort, and about the Organization, and about Riku!"

"So you're going to blame me?" I snapped.

"Yeah, I am, actually," Sora said, crossing his arms. "You said that guy, Demyx, was your friend. And yet you expect us to believe you're not part of the Organization?!" He huffed an impatient sigh. "Yeah, I guess I'm kind of dumb, but I know you're hiding something! I'm not _that_ stupid!"

I sighed, also crossing my arms. He got me. I knew this time would come.

"Okay, you win," I said, rolling my eyes. "I lied before. I'm part of the Organization." Sora got a look on his face like, "I KNEW it!" I frowned at him. "But...not really. Last year, when I joined, I was trying to take it apart for revenge purposes. And I still am." I started to pace the front room. "Xigbar, Xaldin, and Xemnas are who I have left. Oh, and Saix."

"What about Demyx?" Donald asked.

"He was truly my friend. I was hoping he'd pull through in the end...but I guess it ended for the better. Oh well. It could've been worse."

"So if you're in the Organization, you must be a Nobody, right?" Goofy said.

"No...I'm not. Don't ask."

"Okay, so you named off almost every Nobody left. What about Axel?" Sora asked, and I gasped.

"Axel!? You know him!?" Sora nodded. "You've met him!?" When he nodded again, I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, ignoring his scared expression. "You talked to him?! What did he say?! Is he okay?!"

"Well, apparently he kidnapped Kairi, he's trying to turn me into a Heartless, and he's also gone AWOL with someone else, according to Saix," Sora replied in one breath, trying to push my hands off of his shoulders.

"Okay, first, the Heartless thing is such a lie. Axel needs and wants you alive, Sora, trust me. Otherwise I wouldn't be here, see? Second, the person he went AWOL with is me." I sighed, defeated, and dropped my hands. Sora stepped away. "Axel is my best friend. He's the one who told me to help you. I know what you're thinking: why trust the bad guys, right? But you've got to, because we're on your side."

"Hah! I bet Axel wants Nexus to turn you into a Heartless _for_ him!" Donald quacked angrily. I shook my head fiercely. Stupid bird. Didn't he realize that at any time we could fry him and eat him for dinner?!

"No! Sora, listen to me!" I pleaded, grabbing the kid's arms tightly, noting not to dig my fingernails into his skin. "I know you can't remember anything from this past year. But me and Axel and Namine protected you. We're all friends, and..." Breathless, I dropped to the carpet, feeling faint. "I've...said too much. I'm sorry, I..."

"I...trust you, Nexus," Sora admitted, lowering his eyes. I nodded once. I had hoped as much. "But why did Axel kidnap Kairi?"

"I really don't know, either. I think it's stupid." I sighed. "It probably has something to do with Ri--"

I managed to stop myself.

"With who?" Sora asked.

"..."

"C'mon...is it...you don't think...Riku?!"

"Sora...! Hey, we're here again?"

The ship had landed in the Land of Dragons again. The event distracted Sora and forced him to turn his attention to something other than me.

"I got so caught up in our conversation," I said to myself quietly, getting to my feet. "Eh, I'm gonna go take a shower," I then told Sora.

He gave me a skeptical look. I smiled.

"Go on ahead without me; I'll catch up. I remember where to go. It's not THAT big of a world."

Sora nodded in agreement, then rolled his eyes slightly.

"What?" I asked.

"Prep," he replied.

"Am not." I sighed. "I just appreciate hygiene."

Sora proudly thumped his chest, then winked as Donald and Goofy laughed.

"See you soon, then," he said.

I waved a little, grateful for his easy-going attitude, and headed toward the bathroom.

*~*~*

Axel opened a portal into the Land of Dragons. A reliable source had told him that it was most likely going to be Sora's next destination. But Axel didn't want to see Sora again. He really didn't need to. No, he was here for Nexus.

Their gummi ship was parked in a small bamboo grove, amongst a multitude of trees, so Axel was able to enter the ship without being noticed by the soldiers on guard duty.

"Hello?" he called out when the door shut behind him. He couldn't hear anything except for the faint sound of running water. A sink, Axel assumed. It had to be Nexus; what would really prompt Sora to care enough to use a sink?

Looking around, Axel saw a door slightly ajar, and he guessed it must be their bedroom, which would in turn lead to their bathroom.

.........

Nexus stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She wrapped it loosely around her clean body and began to wring out her long hair. When most of the water was gone, she started to head toward the bedroom.

.........

Axel stepped into the bedroom and looked around. Nexus' bunk was an obvious choice; it was super neat compared to the rest.

Suddenly the door on the far side of the room opened out from the adjacent wall.

.........

Nexus stepped out of the bathroom and onto the fuzzy, warm carpet. A blast of cool air met her and she sighed through her nose. Tipping her head to one side, and sighing through her nose again, she shook the water out of her ears, eyes closed. She opened them for just a split second, then froze.

"!!!"

Nexus and Axel continued to scream as they each backed to opposite sides of the room. Axel, the second he was in the hallway again, slammed the door, still screaming.

"Dammit!" Axel shouted, smacking himself in the forehead. He wasn't sure if he was more embarrassed for himself or for Nexus...

Nexus' PoV

I finally stopped shrieking a full minute after Axel had left the room. He had been in my room. He had seen me...and I was beginning to wonder exactly _how much_ of me.

Tiptoeing over to the door, I leaned against it, listening.

"Axel?" I said, blushing.

"Yeah?" he said, sounding as exasperated as I felt.

"Are you still there?"

"Obviously. Otherwise would I be talking to you right now?"

I laughed a little, feeling better. "Okay, true. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll let you in."

"Alright. 60, 59, 58..."

_What_?! He wasn't actually timing me, was he?!

"Axel--"

"Better hurry, you're losing time! 49, 48..."

Frantically, I ran around my room, looking for the soldier's training garments I wore from last visit.

"19, 18..."

I didn't even have my pants on yet!! Frock!

"Ah, you are so mean to me!" I screamed through the closed door, hopping around on one leg. "Stop it! Stop counting! You are really pissing me off, you know!" And on I went.

* * *

I nearly fell over with relief. He was actually just kidding. Calming myself down, I took my time and ended up being ready just in time.

"1/100--"

I opened the door, smirking.

"I'm not so mean, right?" Axel asked, grinning.

"No, I guess not," I replied, shrugging a little.

We both laughed...then I hugged him tightly. Sure, my hair was still pretty wet and my clothes were a bit wrinkled. It didn't matter. We were together again. To me, that was all I wanted. It was all that mattered.

"I'm surprised to see you," I admitted.

"_You're _surprised?" he muttered, chuckling quietly.

"Oh, shut up." I released him and looked him straight in his green eyes, nearly making myself scream. "That's _your_ own stupidity."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I mean, geez, my first thoughts were 'Oh, no, there's a convict in my bedroom!'"

We both laughed again.

"But aren't you being hypocritical?"

"I concur," I said. "So. How are you? How are..._things_?"

"Alright, I guess. Roxas...well, I dunno. He said that...he would just accept fate when it came to him."

I crossed my arms, frowning. "I'm sorry, Axel." But I could understand Roxas' point of view just fine. In fact...I agreed with it.

"It's okay...well, not really, I guess. But there's nothing anyone can do at this point."

_He says those words, but he doesn't believe them,_ I thought.

"Smile."

Axel gave me a look, raising an eyebrow.

"I said smile!"

I grabbed his cheeks and forced them upwards.

"Ow, okay, stop!" he shouted, his voice distorted.

Grinning, amused, I walked over to my bed, and as I sat down, Axel laughed a little.

"I knew that one was yours," he said proudly.

"Only because it's neat," I pointed out.

"Exactly."

I smiled to myself. How stupid. He thought he knew me.

"What is _that_ smile for?" he asked me.

"Once again, your stupidity."

Axel crossed his arms, unamused, while I flopped back onto my bed, my head cushioned by my pillow.

"Good night," I said, closing my eyes.

"Tell me something, Nex."

I could feel Axel sit on my bunk, and soon his warm fingertips had forced my eyes open.

"Do _you_ think there's still some way?" he asked.

"Some way?" I echoed.

"For me to save Roxas and myself."

I sat upright, tears coming to my eyes.

"I hope so. Demyx faded away today. There was nothing I could do about it. I had to protect Sora, but I lost him instead. And he didn't do anything wrong to deserve it. He just...faded away." I lowered my head, but Axel took hold of my chin and forced it back up.

"_We_ won't fade away."

I bit my bottom lip hard, trying to hold back tears. But they pushed themselves out from my eyes anyway, and they fell in silent streams down my cheeks.

"Nex?"

I couldn't hold back. I let out a tiny sob.

"Nex...?"

I couldn't hold anything back. I just started bawling.

"Nex, c'mon."

_No_, I thought. _I won't. Because it's fate. You have to fade away. You have to._

*~*~*

As Nexus curled into a ball, sobbing into her hands, Axel just stared, unable to say or do anything.

_This is one of those moments I'm glad I have no heart,_ he thought.

"Nex..." he mouthed, stroking her head, his fingers combing through her soft, long hair.

Scaring him, Nexus' head fell back onto her pillow, and her whole body shook with sobs. Axel could see her childlike, beautiful face, twisted in agony, soaked with tears. Her hands clenched her pillow.

She stayed like that for a while, then eventually she turned onto her back, her breathing slowing to a normal rate, but shuddering, like she might've been cold. The only thing that was cold was her heart.

Soon her eyes closed, and it seemed as though she had drifted off into sleep.

_What could I have said to help her? _Axel wondered, gazing at her still face. Her cheeks were flushed, rosy from crying. _Can I help her, too? I don't know what to do anymore._

He waited a while, and when she didn't wake up, he thought, _I should probably get going._

As quietly as he could, he stood, and as he moved, her bed shifted. She didn't move, so he did.

Just as he passed Nexus' head and was ready to reach for the door, he felt a slight tug on his sleeve.

"Don't go yet," she begged him quietly.

Axel looked back at Nexus; she reached behind her and grabbed his sleeve with her hand. She wasn't even looking at him, but her eyes were open, red-rimmed, still wet.

"Don't go."

Saying nothing, Axel came and sat back down; Nexus rolled onto her side, facing the wall.

_I guess I'll wait until she really does fall asleep, or until she says something else, _he decided.

An hour passed, and Nexus hadn't moved one bit.

_I'm sorry, Nex,_ he thought, standing once more. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you through this. I'm so sorry._

She didn't move this time, didn't try to grab his sleeve, didn't try to talk.

Axel, convinced she was asleep, opened a portal, and he left without a goodbye.

Nexus, squinting her eyes, exhaled shakily, staring at the wall, as she had been for the past hour.

Nexus' PoV

I have never to this day found any activity more therapuedic than writing. After Axel left, after I cried a little more, and after I gave myself a pep talk, I wrote. I guess you could call my story over halfway done at that point. The illustrations just came in a swirl of color, and soon I felt like nothing had happened, but as if I was stronger anyway.

_It is fate, after all, _I told myself_,_ my throat tensing up as I put away my notebook. _I just have to keep fighting it, that's all._

Fighting...fighting...!!

"Oh no!" I cried, jumping up quickly. "Sora!"

In my remorse I had completely neglected Sora and the others. I wondered how mad he would be, but I figured he would probably just be grateful for the extra help.

Strapping my gun holster to my leg, I began to run outside and look for my friends.

"My friends..." I said to myself as I shut the door behind me. Yes, I had more of them than I thought.

A strange feeling washed over me. For the first time, it really hit me that I had friends of my own.

"...And I should be protecting them right now!" I shouted, sprinting off.


	19. Chapter 19: Fly High into the Sunrise

Chapter 19: Fly High into the Sunrise (doubleuX3 . youtube . com/watch?v=8l6A2pXGotI)

Memo: Ah, I love this chapter. :)

*~*~*

Nexus was thankful she had a good memory, otherwise there would've been no way she would have navigated through the Land of Dragons by herself. Though it wasn't the biggest world she'd ever been to, this one was sprawling, misleading with its curving paths.

"If I was Sora," she said to herself, looking around, "where would I go?"

She was getting kind of lost, and she was starting to lose hope.

"I guess they might be back on the ship, wondering where _I _am," she muttered, chuckling to herself. She started to head back that way, then stopped.

"Wait. If I was Sora, I'd be wherever people are. So where are the people in this place?"

It couldn't have been the training campgrounds, since she had just checked there, so the only other plausible places were the village and the Imperial Square.

She decided she'd start with the village first, since that seemed more likely, but halfway up the hill she realized two things: one being she needed more ammo, and two being the village was most likely still in ruins.

The only marketplace moogle was in the village, though, so she proceeded up the hill, bought ammo, then ran all the way back and ended up at the Imperial Square to find it not only completely empty, but eerily quiet.

_I don't like this one bit, _she thought, and so she ran toward the palace gates, where suddenly all her questions were answered.

Sitting, or perhaps floating, at the doors to the palace throneroom was a giant winged Heartless Nexus had never seen before. It was trying to stare in at someone, and Nexus assumed that must be Sora and Mulan and the others. But there was no way they could open the door and get by it, though. Its huge body was blocking the entrance entirely.

_Only one thing to do at a time like this,_ Nexus decided, releasing the safety catch of her gun and firing. Both shots were dead-on into the creature's head, and it whirled around, roaring angrily. Just as she had hoped, it got up and flew toward her.

"Frock," Nexus said, sprinting away.

"Nexus, 'bout time!" she heard Sora shout, so she stopped and turned around. He was heading her way with the others close behind, ready for battle. "Let's do this and get it over with!"

"I hear ya!" she said, smirking.

Nexus' PoV

Sora came running toward me at full speed, and at first I seriously thought he was going to tackle-hug me, so I started backing away. But when he reached me, he grabbed my arm and started dragging me behind him.

"Oh gosh! What are you doing?!" I shouted, nearly falling over.

"You said you wanted to fight this thing, so that's what we're doing!" Sora shouted over his shoulder, then suddenly stopped. With all of his strength, he launched me forward, and I landed on the Heartless dragon's giant tail.

"WHAAAA!" I screamed, hanging on for dear life, when suddenly I felt a hand drag me up to safety.

"Long time no see," Mulan said, grinning. Sora laughed from behind me.

"Yeah, whatever you say," I muttered, getting to my feet.

"Aw, c'mon, Nexus, where's your spirit of adventure?"

Sora, grabbing my arm again, dragged me over to the head of the dragon. I whipped out my keyblade and the two of us started whacking away at one wing, while Mulan, Donald, and Goofy worked on the other.

Suddenly the great beast started to shake.

"Uh-oh," Donald quacked.

"Yeah, that's an understatement," I said, feeling the Heartless start to swoop up. Then it hit me: it was trying to shake us off by doing a loop-de-loop. "Hang on to something!"

Immediately we all grabbed the nearest horn, just in time for the thing to spin.

"Ugh." I let go and tried to stand, but everything felt shaky and weird.

"You okay?" Sora asked me, holding out his hand.

"No, and it's your fault," I replied, taking it.

But just as we got back to fighting, the thing shook again, this time jerking its whole body to one side. Sora and I were unfortunate enough to be on the edge, and soon the solidity beneath my feet disappeared.

I didn't scream as I fell, seeing as how it wasn't that far of a drop at that time, and I even landed on my feet. I _did _scream when Sora collided into me, knocking us both to the ground.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed, getting up as if nothing had happened.

"Stupid!" I shouted, taking him by the arm and flinging him out of my way.

Then the most amazing thing happened: whatever I threw Sora into sucked him right up, and it tossed him high in the air. He landed right back on the Heartless, not a scratch on him. I looked back to where I had thrown him, and I saw there was a small mini-tornado there.

"Sweet!" he shouted.

"You stay up there!" I shouted back.

"You should come, too!"

"No way!" There wasn't any reason for me to get back up there. After all, I had a long distance projectile weapon. (:3) "You stay up there, and I'll shoot from down here."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"Here, take this!"

Resummoning my keyblade, I heaved it up to Sora, and he caught it, surprised.

"Use it while you're up there!" I cried, releasing the safety catch on my gun once more. This was more my speed.

*~*~* (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=IdGmdeg4pfc)

_It's times like these when I _like_ being the Keyblade Master,_ Sora thought, swinging both Nexus' and his own keyblades around his body. He had almost forgotten he was mad at Nexus for just showing up. What had she been doing all that time?

Suddenly the Heartless roared, and Sora realized he had just destroyed the wing he had been working on.

_Already?_ he thought, looking at the keyblades. He sighed, a little tired.

Just as he did, though, Nexus' keyblade glowed a little, and Sora instantly felt refreshed.

"What the...?" He stared at it. _Did this thing just heal me?_ Smiling, he went to help his friends. _Well, can't complain! No wonder she beat me that one time I challenged her in Twilight Town. This thing is super powerful, and it heals you as you fight! In fact, I'm barely tired!_

And so Sora made the decision to go all out and attack the Heartless at every possible angle he could get to. _After all, _he figured, _I might as well take advantage of this. I doubt Nexus will ever let me use this thing again after tonight._

Um, that's what he said?

Anyway, it wasn't long before the giant Heartless suddenly started to roar with pain and tremble under their feet. Sora grinned. This was it! It was finally going to die!

As it swooped close to the ground, Mulan and Goofy went ahead and jumped off, leaving Sora to finish the job.

"Smell ya later!" Sora cried, smashing the two keyblades into the Heartless' head. It roared, shaking its big head, causing Sora to lose footing and fall off. Luckily, the Heartless was close enough to the ground that Sora landed safe and sound.

"It's coming down," Nexus said. Sora grinned at her, but then quickly noticed her grave expression. "It's coming down!"

He turned, and sure enough, the giant Heartless was coming down, right on top of Mulan.

"Mulan!"

Knowing the voice, Sora watched Shang come running toward her, nearly tackling her just as the Heartless crashed into the ground. But just a split-second later, the Heartless vanished in a flash, leaving only a giant heart behind, which floated up out of sight.

"Way to go!" Sora called out as Shang pulled Mulan to her feet. The Captain smiled at her, and she quickly returned it with a genuine grin. Suddenly they both blushed and looked away, releasing each others' hands, and, as if on cue, fireworks went off above the palace roof.

"Here, Nexus," Sora said, holding out her keyblade. She took it hesitantly, and it soon disappeared.

In that same moment, Sora felt all of his strength rush out of him, and he collapsed onto his knees, unable to stand.

"I figured this might happen," Nexus said, sighing. "You really fought hard, didn't you?" When he nodded, she sighed again. "Well, alright."

Bending over to his level, Nexus swiftly pulled Sora over her shoulder. Surprised, he wanted to protest, but he was much too tired and gave up.

"This is all your fault," he muttered, and she frowned as they started toward the palace.

Nexus' PoV

I finally set Sora down in front of the Emperor, who was sitting in his throne room. Shang stood beside the old man, and the rest of us stood in front. This time, though, he didn't look angry at all. He couldn't hide his happiness.

"Once again, you have served China well," he told us. "It would please me to reward you." I watched Donald out of the corner of my eye shake his hands together gleefully. "What is it that you wish?"

Right on cue, Goofy's stomach rumbled.

"Well..." Sora began, sitting on the floor. "You say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?"

"That is all you request?"

Donald and Goofy both jumped a little, starting to protest.

"Yes."

The two stooges hung their heads at their leader's response.

"Dragons have crossed our land and left a great web of paths. These dragons wield much power, and they are the source of many gifts to both man and nature," the Emperor explained. "But it would seem someone of evil intent disturbed one of our dragons, and transformed it into what you call a Heartless. It is my belief that this young man came to warn me of that danger. Then, I could alert and prepare my troops."

"Did you?" Sora asked, looking around.

"I was about to, but he told me the situation had changed." The Emperor chuckled.

"He said three 'wise guys and a crazy girl' had arrived, and they would take care of things," Shang said.

"That's gotta be Riku!" Sora cried.

"He's in big trouble if it is," I muttered. Why did everyone have to call me crazy?

"But what's he doin' hangin' out with Organization XIII?" Goofy asked after a quick side glance at Donald.

"No idea. But at least I finally know he's okay," Sora said, sounding really relieved. "That's good enough."

"Yeah, that's good!" Donald agreed.

"Now then, Fa Mulan," the Emperor said, changing the subject back to its rightful place. "Do you have a request?"

"I'd like Shang...I-I mean...well..." Mulan stammered. "The Captain..."

"Yes, yes, my dear. What is it?"

"Could the Captain have a vacation, please?"

Her words just kind of tumbled out of her mouth and fell on the floor. Shang looked pleasantly surprised.

"I hardly expected such humble requests," the Emperor said, chuckling once more. "In this case, I'm afraid I must refuse. Captain Li's responsibility is to protect the Emperor." Shut down. "And yet, Mulan... Would you like to serve alongside him and protect me?"

"Huh?" Shang grunted.

"What?" Mulan gasped.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing!

"Two reeds together are stronger than one," the Emperor insisted. "But the choice is yours alone."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Mulan exclaimed, bowing.

Shang, smiling, came over to her, and her own smile became broader.

"Let's go," I said to Sora, and when I looked at him, I was shocked to see him wiping tears from his eyes.

"Y-yeah," he murmured. I helped him up.

"Do you need me to carry you again?" I asked as nicely as I could. "I'm not trying to crush your pride or anything--"

"It's fine," he said, in the same quiet tone. Heaving him over my shoulder, I carried him all the way back to the ship.

All the way back I was expecting him to start questioning me about why I was gone so long, or why I had looked like I had felt (like shit). To my relief, he said nothing, and we continued on to the next world in quiet, resolved silence.


	20. Chapter 20: Identity

Chapter 20: Identity (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=YxQVaYnJQuA --This song's translation is so fitting~!!)

Memo: This is where it gets _really_ good. :) God love ya, Ayu, your music inspired everything. Thank you for reading~!!! :D

*~*~*

Sora wasn't surprised at all to see the Beast in the main hallway when he walked through the front door. He was a little stunned, however, to see him in a nice suit and looking as handsome as he possibly could've looked being a monster.

"Hey there!" Sora exclaimed when they reached him. He didn't even turn around.

"No Heartless and no Nobodies!" Donald added, looking around.

"I think they're close, though..." Goofy said.

"Better watch out!" Sora told the Beast. Nexus rolled her eyes, and the Beast sighed in frustration.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked.

"Why are you here?" the Beast grunted.

"I'm beginning to wonder the same thing," Nexus muttered in reply. Sora nudged her, but she only rolled her eyes again.

"The Nobodies' world has to be out there somewhere," he instead said. "We're looking for a way in."

"Hmph."

Suddenly, appearing at the East Wing staircase, Belle started down toward the Beast, practically floating, dressed in a beautiful yellow ballgown. The Beast looked over his shoulder at the four.

"Tonight is," he explained, "very important."

And without another word, the Beast walked up the stairs to meet Belle. She took his arm, and together they walked into the ballroom.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time," Goofy said.

"Ya think?" Nexus snapped.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Donald said, bolting up the stairs.

"Donald!" Sora shouted, and with no other choice he followed him into the ballroom. When they stopped, Belle and the Beast were looking deep into each other's eyes, and the castle servants were watching.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle," Lumiere said, waving one of his candlestick arms. "Please, enjoy the evening."

Sora cleared his throat quietly, but the servants noticed anyway. Fortunately, they seemed happy to see them.

"And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too," Lumiere added.

"A welcome indeed."

Belle, startled, held the Beast close as everyone looked around. The Beast saw him first, up on the balcony. Sora, running farther in the center of the room, looked up as well and jumped.

"The Organization!" he shouted.

"You don't know when to quit," Xaldin said. Nexus sighed, running to Sora's side.

"Now _that's_ a hypocritical statement if I ever heard one," she snapped.

"We'll show you!" Donald quacked angrily.

"Get out!" the Beast suddenly roared, pushing Belle away and running toward Xaldin. Belle glared angrily.

"Not tonight!" she cried. Xaldin ignored her, and when he snapped his fingers, Nobodies appeared.

"I've come to take something you hold very dear," he said. The Beast roared again.

"Not Belle," Nexus mouthed, looking at the beautiful young woman who was standing behind her, aghast.

"Yes. Let your anger grow..."

Ditching them, Xaldin left through a portal like the coward he was, leaving the others to fight the Nobodies.

"Beast!" Sora shouted, his keyblade appearing. "We have to get rid of these guys first!"

Nexus' PoV

The Nobodies were no match for us, as I figured. What I really wanted was to get to the big guy, Xaldin. He would be one more check-mark on my to-do list, and the sooner that was done, the sooner I could help Axel. Not that I really wanted to leave Sora and the others, but I knew they could handle it.

Anyway, while I was considering this, Sora said something to the Beast about Belle not being taken, and the dude roared and took off anyway. None of us could figure out why, so we followed him to his chambers, which were still a wreck from last time.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked when the Beast roared and slammed the floor. She tried to get closer to him. "Please, calm down!"

The Beast swung around to face her, looking incredibly angry.

"Calm down!?" he bellowed. "You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what's happened?"

"Hey," Sora snapped. "What's with you?"

"The rose..." he groaned, bowing his head. "My rose..."

"What, that? He took it?"

"But surely, you can find another rose..." Belle began hopefully.

"Silence! You don't know anything!" He started to swipe at her, but Sora blocked him, standing in front of Belle. Damn. Whatever the rose was, it was obviously vital.

"That's not fair, Beast," Sora cried. "Don't take it out on Belle. It's not like she stole it!"

"I'm sorry," Belle murmured.

"You don't have to apologize."

"But..."

Suddenly the Beast got quiet, and he looked away from us. I was beginning to wonder if he wasn't bipolar or something.

"Belle... Sora... I want you to leave the castle," he said. Well, damn! What are we supposed to say to that? Even Belle didn't say anything. "Look at me. Look. This is what I am. When you first got here, I tried to change." I assumed at that point he was talking about Belle, and he looked at his hands remorsefully. "But I was only fooling myself. I can't be any different. I'll always be a beast. So, I should live like a beast. With no one, alone." He paused. "Goodbye, Belle."

"You can't mean that..." Belle gasped, reaching out to him.

"I think his mind's all made up," Goofy said to us. Sora nodded.

"Yeah."

Belle, near tears, turned away and took a few hesitant steps toward the door.

_Don't do it!_ I wanted to say. _Don't listen to him._ But something stopped me.

"Look, Belle," Sora said quickly, stopping her. "Leave this to us. If we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down."

She nodded, looked back at the Beast one more time, then left the room with us. When we reached the small set of stairs leading to the main hall, Belle gave a little solemn wave to the servants and to us, and she left without a word.

"Poor child..." Mrs. Potts said, looking as forlorn as I felt.

"How could it have come to this?" Cogsworth sighed.

"And they were so looking forward to this evening..." Lumiere added.

"Now, now--no need to be so sad. Once the rose is back safely, this will all be over," Mrs. Potts told us.

"What's so special about one rose, anyway?" Sora asked.

"If the master can love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken," Cogsworth explained. "We'll all be human again."

"So?" I said, crossing my arms.

"But there is a time limit," Lumiere said. Ah. Well, that definitely complicates things. "He must find his true love before the last petal falls from that rose."

"Ah, but that is not all... Over time, caring for that rose has become a cherished part of the master's daily life," Cogsworth added.

"It's as though all his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom..." Mrs. Potts said. I glanced at her son, and he gave me a cute smile. I smiled back. I think he would be a really adorable human kid.

"Poor Beast!" Sora exclaimed, frowning. "Then we have to get it back."

"Please do!" Mrs. Potts cried, looking a little more hopeful.

"We can't without the Beast, though. If it's that important to him, he's got to do it himself."

I nodded in agreement, as did the other two stooges.

"Then let's go back to talk to him," I suggested, and so we did. He was still standing in the same position as we left him. Though he had sounded really mad earlier, he looked beyond melancholy now, staring at the ground. He didn't even bother to look at us when we came in.

"Hey, Beast," Sora said in a loud, forceful tone.

"Leave me alone," the Beast said, sighing.

"C'mon, you need to hear this," Sora insisted. "You used to be fearless. You would have given your life to save Belle. Don't you know what that meant to us? You gave us all courage." This was new. Since when was Sora so...good with words? "Hmph, maybe you should have kept some for yourself. I mean, are you really gonna throw your happiness away? The rose is your only hope, isn't it? Well, it's the only hope for Cogsworth and the others, too. So, don't throw away your last chance. Remember what it was like before Belle lived here?"

If nothing else Sora had said had worked, that last statement did. I watched the Beast's ugly face soften at the memory. We had him.

"See?" Sora insisted, his voice lightening up. "You can't give up. Not now."

"I know one thing," the Beast suddenly growled.

"What?"

He turned to us at last, and I could tell by his eyes that his spirits were back.

"This castle belongs to me. Xaldin will never be welcome here."

We nodded, and the Beast stood up to join us.

"Let's get Belle back," Sora said. The Beast nodded. I wish I had known his real name. Random, sorry.

As we walked out of the West Wing, I turned to Sora and murmured, "Wow, where did THAT speech come from?"

"From the heart," he replied, winking. I lowered my eyelids, unamused.

"Ha ha."

*~*~*

When the five reached the main hallway, heading toward Belle's chambers, they somehow sensed that they weren't alone, and Sora happened to look up just as Xaldin spoke.

"So, Beast...you came after all," he said in a growly voice. He was holding the Beast's rose, confirming their suspicions. "You had me worried. I was afraid you'd given up for good."

"What do you guys really want?" Sora shouted, his nose scrunching, a sure sign he was pissed.

"...Kingdom Hearts." Xaldin threw back his hood, revealing long, black, dreaded hair and surprisingly striking blue eyes. "When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely. So you see, Beast--that's why we need your Heartless AND your Nobody!"

With a wave of his gloved hand, Xaldin summoned more Nobodies as a distraction.

"And there he goes again," Nexus growled through clenched teeth as she watched Xaldin walk right out the front door. She felt something worse than anger well up deep inside her, and, knowing it was Sune, she mouthed, "Soon."

Even though they came in great numbers, the Nobodies were an easy match, and soon the five had followed Xaldin outside into the courtyard. There was no trace of him.

_What if he left? _Sora thought, looking all around him. Then_ what do we do?_

"Huh?" Goofy said, looking up at the manor. He could see Belle leaning on the balcony's edge, sitting outside of her room. She saw him when he waved, and she gasped, then smiled brightly at them. It was too bad she might never see them again. But she decided this was her chance to talk about it, and so she began to head back inside.

"Is that..."

Blocking her way in was nothing other than the rose. Her hopes rising, Belle picked it up and called down to her friends.

"Look! It's the rose!" she cried, holding it up for them all to see. Just as the Beast looked at her, she felt a glove come down over her mouth.

"Belle!" she heard the Beast shout, then suddenly her feet weren't touching the balcony anymore. This man, Xaldin, was jumping over the courtyard, nearly flying.

"Hurry!" Sora shouted from down below, leading the way to the bridge. The Beast quickly passed him and busted the door open with his shoulder, his large paws pounding against the cold stone as he ran to Xaldin and Belle.

"You!" the Beast roared, stopping near them. "Get out of my castle, now!"

"With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light..." Xaldin said, looking at the rose and Belle, who shrank back with fear. "What shall I leave behind? Belle? Or the rose?"

"Say both," Nexus mouthed, but the Beast didn't notice her.

"Belle!" he cried.

Just as he shouted that, Belle, catching Xaldin off-guard, elbowed the Organization member in the gut, causing him to let go of both her and the rose. She snatched it out of his arms and ran.

"Good one, Belle!" Sora cried, laughing as she ran past.

"I like _you_!" Nexus agreed, also laughing. It was true; Belle was definitely different from the other typical princesses.

When they had all turned back around, Xaldin had summoned six long lances and was surrounded by gusts of wind. He was no longer standing on the ground, but floating instead. He looked a lot more powerful than any of the other Organization members they had fought so far. Although...they hadn't really fought any that they remembered...except Nexus.

"Where's the fun in this?" he asked.

Nexus grinned, pulling out her gun.

"Are you kidding?" she said. "This is what I live for."

Nexus' PoV

I can't even explain how happy I was when Sora let Xaldin have that final smack in the face. I never did like him, even when he wasn't a Nobody. He and Elaeus just needed to die. And I had succeeded in making them! Hah!

"You..." he growled, looking right at me. I danced a little, twirling my gun.

"Yeeees?" I grinned at him. He was annoyed, I was happy, what was there to complain about?

"You have no right destroying us for being incomplete," he said, smirking, "when you are but a doll yourself!"

"Please," I sighed, frowning. "If you want to talk to her, just say so."

"I wouldn't mind it."

"Neither would she. Just give me a moment."

I whirled around to face Sora and the others, who looked completely lost and obviously had no idea who "she" was, which made me happy. All the more reason to instruct them.

"Guys, please," I begged them. "Please, don't question me when I say this: close your eyes, cover your ears, and please don't look at me, whatever you do."

"...?" Sora cocked his head, raising an eyebrow at me. I pouted, and he sighed.

"Okay," he said, doing exactly as I had told him, and the others followed suit, even the Beast and Belle.

Turning back to Xaldin, I closed my eyes for a moment.

"Yes," Sune said through me, her higher-pitched voice tickling my throat. "Dilan."

"Sune," Xaldin murmured. "It's been a while."

"It's your fault." I opened my eyes, and everything looked different to me. That always happened. It really is all a matter of perspective.

"I know."

"What did you want to tell me?" Sune asked, pouting more than frowning.

"Nothing except I pity you."

"Tch. Don't. You're worse off than me," she snapped. "Right, Nexus?"

"Yeah," I said, my own voice returning.

Then I tried to tell him something else, but suddenly my words caught in my throat, and for a moment I couldn't even breathe.

"What's the matter, Nexus? Cat got your tongue?" Xaldin said with a raspy laugh.

"Hardly," Sune said.

_Oh no,_ I thought, still choking. _She's trying to come back._

My muscles tensed up, not doing what I was wanting them to do. Somewhere inside me, Sune was lurking, and now she was trying to take over again. I knew the feeling, like my body was trying to turn itself inside-out.

_My time's not up! _I told her, my hand holding up my head.

"You should've never had _time_ from the beginning," she pointed out.

"I..." For a moment, my voice returned, and I felt her prescense start to receed back into me. "I...am _me_."

_But you always forget! _she laughed. _So am _I_._

"Damn..." I murmured, one of my knees buckling from the pressure. I had to stay calm, otherwise I'd be screaming and writhing on the ground in front of my not-yet-faded enemy. And that would not be the way to look.

But I knew when my other knee hit the ground that I wasn't going to stay concious for much longer.

"I really do pity you," Xaldin said. "At least I _knew_ what I was!"

He started to laugh, and my vision fuzzed.

*~*~*

Sora already knew he was too curious for his own good; nobody at all needed to point that out to him. But this time he had a real reason to be curious: Nexus was just plain weird. Okay, that was blunt, but that was all he could think as he barely made out voices through his ears.

_I want to look_, he thought, pouting. _What's the big deal, anyway? What's so strange that I can't see?_

For a while he was pretty obedient, but after a minute or two, he was really starting to wonder.

_Okay, fine. In three, they're open. One...two...three!_

His eyes took a while to adjust, but when he finally could see again, Nexus didn't look any different, other than the fact that she was falling from her knees onto the ground, and Xaldin was finally fading away.

"Nexus!?" Sora shouted, running over to her. He caught her just before she hit the cold stone bridge. Her eyes were closed tight. She looked fine, except for a few scratches here and there from their battle with Xaldin.

Glancing over at the Beast, he saw that Belle was about to talk to him.

_Maybe she'll come to in a minute,_ he thought, and gently putting her back on the ground, Sora rushed over to his other friends.

"Here," Belle said, holding out the rose. "It's yours again."

The Beast took it, but he still looked guilty.

"Belle..." he began.

"I know. You want me to leave the castle," she finished for him.

"What matters is..." The Beast hesitated, then continued, obviously sincere. "You weren't hurt by Xaldin... You're safe. And... I'm very grateful to you...for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you."

Belle smiled. "It's the least I could do. You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be."

_That's not what _I_ would've said if _I_ were her,_ Sora thought with a smirk.

"Listen, Belle..." the Beast said, placing the rose on the ground.

"Yes?" Belle murmured, still smiling.

The Beast tried to say something, but it was obvious that he was being bashful and timid.

"Say it!" Sora insisted.

"Go on!" Lumiere agreed.

Shouts of encouragement came from the others, and finally the Beast sighed, giving in.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay..." he said at last. "With me... Please?"

To Sora's relief, Belle held out her hand, and the Beast understood, taking her hand and putting his other around her waist.

"I will," she replied.

"Maestro--music!" Lumiere said, and the two lovebirds started to dance.

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora asked, grinning as he watched them.

"Yep, she sure was havin' fun, all right," Goofy said, laughing.

"She is rather unique, isn't she?" Lumiere asked. Sora nodded, then jumped.

"Unique!" he mouthed, and he looked over at Nexus quickly. She hadn't moved.

"Sorry guys, we've gotta go!" Sora whispered to the servants. They smiled understandingly, nodding.

Without another word, Sora grabbed Donald and Goofy and dragged them over to where Nexus was.

"What happened to her?" Goofy asked.

"No idea, but she seems to be breathing fine," Sora replied, picking her up. She was surprisingly light.

"We should take her back, so she doesn't get sick," Donald suggested.

"Yeah."

Smirking, Sora looked down at Nexus' still face.

_Guess this is payback for yesterday, huh?_ he thought, trying not to laugh. _Oh well. It's the least I can do._


	21. Chapter 21: From the Box Seats

Chapter 21: From the Box Seats (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=FrPtcgrS0sc)

Memo: I know in the game you're supposed to go to POTC world next, but I always thought that was stupid, so we're doing things my way, yo. XD Oh, also, welcome to the third and final ten chapters of this story! Read on. ;)

Nexus' PoV

I don't like people in my face, especially when I wake up. Sora found that out pretty quickly the next day.

"_Get out of my face, you cretin!" _I shouted when I woke up to his big blue eyes inches in front of me. I turned over quickly, wrapping myself in sheets. He should've known better than to wake me up that early.

"But Nexus, we're going to the Coliseum today!" Sora cried. "We need to check on Hercules!"

"He can check on himself for all I care," I muttered. "Let me sleep."

For a moment, Sora was quiet, and I really thought he was going to leave me alone for once. But instead he ripped the covers off of me and threw them onto the floor. Yelping in surprise, I curled into a ball at the sudden coldness, then flipped over, staring daggers into Sora. He looked scared, and he should've.

"YOU'RE _DEAD_!" I screamed, jumping up to tackle him. Unfortunately, he dodged me just in time and I missed, smacking my head on his bunk opposite me. "SORA!"

Running like mad, I followed him out into the main control room area, still dressed in yesterday's clothes. He ducked behind the counter, trying to make a getaway, but I saw him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Ow ow ow!" he shouted as I dug my knuckles into his head, trapping him in a headlock while giving him a dangerously rough noogie.

"Are ya feeling better today, Nexus?" Goofy asked me as he and Donald ate their breakfast.

"Yes, thanks," I replied, beaming while still holding Sora in my clutches.

Donald didn't even say anything, just continued to eat rice balls, which looked pretty good.

"Please let me go!" Sora whined, sounding ready to cry.

I was hungry, and it sounded like I had tampered with his manhood enough.

"Are you ever gonna do that again?" I asked him as if he were a little kid.

"NO!"

"Okay."

Releasing him, I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face. Sora fell onto the kitchen floor, gasping for air.

"Geez," he wheezed, coughing. "Let's hope you never have kids."

I kicked him in the butt, making him fall on his face, then went to make some onigiri.

.........

"Well?" Sora said when we reached the Underworld. It looked gloomy, but there was nothing wrong.

"The coast is clear!" Goofy announced.

"No sign of the Nobodies or the Heartless...for now, anyway," Sora said to himself.

"What's that?" Donald asked, pointing. We looked across the river Styx--yes, it exists--to see a large coliseum lit up in the dark sky.

"The Underdrome," someone replied. We looked over to see Auron, not to anyone's surprise. "Fiends of the Underworld once clashed there--battle after battle. But Zeus didn't like the senseless violence, so he locked the place up."

"How did it get UN-locked?" Sora asked.

"Some fool must have broken the seal," Auron answered.

"What an idiot."

I thought about mentioning the noise I noticed last time we were here, when Sora broke the seal to save Meg, but I kept quiet. Oh well. It's not like we could've done anything about it.

"Hmph," Auron grunted, starting to leave.

"Where are you going, Auron?" Sora asked. "We should catch up!"

"If you need something to do, go help your friends," Auron told him.

Sora pouted, glancing over where Auron was motioning, and there sat Hercules and Meg. When we looked back to Auron, he was already gone, so we had no choice other than to talk to the lovebirds.

"Hey," Hercules said weakly when we reached him.

"Herc! You feeling any better?" Sora said.

"Well...same routine," Meg replied for him. "Wonderboy here thinks his hero days are over. And Phil thinks it's all in his head."

"Gawrsh, Herc. We know you're a hero!" Goofy exclaimed. Hercules didn't look convinced.

"That's right...Blunderboy. How can you mope on a momentous day like today?"

That voice was coming from my favorite villian--no, seriously. Hades was an awesome villian. I think if he had been on our side, we'd have been friends.

"The Underdrome's back, and you are gonna fill the stands," Hades said after appearing in a puff of smoke. "After all, your fans won't settle for anything less than a certified hero."

Hercules started to get worked up, but still tired, he relaxed, looking forlorn again.

"I mean, if you're not up to it, you could always just, I dunno, LOSE?" Hades suggested, putting an arm around Herc's shoulders.

"I bet you'd like that!" Sora snapped. Hades looked pissed and started talking fast and gesturing left and right--nothing inappropriate, mind you.

"Excuse me? Hey, I'm not a selfish guy. I'm not like those high and mighty snobs up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And have I got a massive idea!" Hades grinned, and he started announcing some big event that I just KNEW we were gonna get dragged into. "The games, ladies and gentlemen...are back! Yours truly, Hades--the one and only Lord of the Dead--brings you the ultimate games, to celebrate the re-opening of the ultimate coliseum! We'll finally answer the age-old question: Who deserves the title 'Ultimate Hero'? These games are gonna settle the debate once and for all! The winner reigns supreme. Of what? You guessed it! The Hades Cup! And I assure you that the 'Great' Hercules will be there. Otherwise...  
Hades looked at Meg, and Hercules, getting some spirit back, jumped in front of her.

"You'll never see your girlfriend again," Hades finished, disappearing.

"Lowlife," Sora muttered.

"You're too kind, kid."

*~*~*

"Just talk to me if you wanna enter a tournament," a little green devilish looking thing said.

"His Most Perniciousness is feeling kinda charitable, so don't worry about dying or anything," another fatter, purple-colored creature added. "You should consider yourself lucky! Anyway, I'm handling registration for the Hades Cup. Don't go to Panic for that one!"

"And if that's Panic, then who are you?" Nexus asked, raising an eyebrow.

The creature looked up at her and began to step forward, but it stepped on Panic's spiky tail and wailed.

"Pain," it finally replied. Nexus smirked, slightly amused.

"Sign us up for the Hades Cup," Sora then said, all business.

"You got it!" Pain waddled over to a tier board and wrote Sora's name down, with "and co." after it.

"Who do we face first?" Hercules asked.

Well, it didn't matter. All of the other contestants were Heartless the party had seen before, with Hercules as the exception. But he was useless anyway, not having any will to fight or any energy to want to.

After winning both battles and securing themselves in the finals, it was finally time to celebrate. Sora especially was excited, being so competitive.

"We made it to the finals!" he cheered.

"If we win, we'll all be heroes!" Donald cried.

"Oh, that's why you're so happy," Goofy and Nexus said in unison.

"We can't stay junior heroes forever, you know," Sora pointed out happily.

"I'll try not to mess things up," Hercules said. Nexus rolled her eyes, but Donald stole her words.

"Enough already..." he muttered, and she nodded.

"Look. Over there," Hercules then said.

Hesitantly, they all looked to where Hercules mentioned, and there stood Auron, who they had not seen during the whole tournament.

"He's our final opponent, right?" Hercules asked.

"Yeah," Nexus replied, noticing something different.

"Auron!" Sora cried, waving like an idiot. Auron glowed red for a moment, then turned around, frowning.

"And you are?" he asked gruffly.

"Huh?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Auron...?" Donald asked.

"I must defeat you and atone for my crimes," Auron mumbled, walking away.

"Okay...?" Nexus said, cocking her head.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, but Auron was gone. "What was that all about?"

"Only one way to find out," Nexus replied, creeping over to the Cave of the Dead entrance. "Let's go."

Nodding, Sora and the others--except Hercules--followed her in.

"Okay, let's review," they heard Hades say. Sora poked his head around, but pulled it back quickly seeing how close Hades and Auron were. Donald started to waltz right in, but Sora pulled him back, too. "State your crime, prisoner."

"I exist," Auron murmured. "That is my crime. It is...inexcusable."

"Ooh, good, very good."

"What's wrong with Auron?" Sora whispered to Donald. "He's never acted that way before."

Instead of answering, Donald only shushed him.

"Okay, so you made one lousy mistake: you exist," Hades continued. "But hey, I'm a forgiving guy. You keep your end of our little deal, and I'm willing to overlook a transgression or two."

"I understand. Defeat Hercules."

"And his meddling friends."

"What?" For a second Auron sounded like his old self again. "No, only Hercules."

"Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten who's in charge?" Hades said, leaning on Auron's shoulder. Placing his hand there, he began to literally suck the life out of Auron, a few small lights quivering around him. Auron groaned in pain. Hades, smirking, summoned forth a small figurine that looked just like Auron.

"Hercules and the other three," Hades declared, still holding Auron's shoulder. "Are we clear?"

"We're clear, Hades," Auron grunted through the pain.

"_Lord_ Hades."

"Lord Hades..." Auron echoed.

Finally letting go, Hades said, "Good. Now go."

.........

"What's wrong, Sora?" Hercules asked as the group watch Auron sail away with Pain and Panic to the Underdrome.

"Auron's in trouble! It's like Hades brainwashed him!" Sora exclaimed, worried.

"He's using some kind of a statue," Goofy added.

"You know something? That sounds kinda familiar..." Hercules admitting, thinking. If it was what he thought, Hades had used it before with Meg. "Hades may be using the statue to hold Auron's free will hostage."

"What do we do?" Donald quacked.

"See if you can find that statue. It's gotta be somewhere in the Underworld."

"Right," Sora said, eager to get going. "I'm on it!"

"Tell me you're not thinking of leaving," Hades said, suddenly appearing. Sora clenched his teeth, glaring. "You've got a match coming up."

"I'll fight Auron in the final," Hercules decided, standing tall. "One on one."

"Oh, you will?"

Hades quickly turned around, looking worried, and started muttering to himself, obviously trying to devise a plan. The others did the same, only a bit less successfully.

"I'll draw things out to buy you time," Hercules told Sora.

"But--" Sora started.

"Just hurry back," Hercules interrupted, standing up straight again as Hades came over. "I know you can do it!"

"Congratulations! You've got a deal." Hades grinned maniacally.

"Thanks," Hercules replied with a smirk.

"On one condition! The Keyblader, here, and his trusty friends have to meet the winner in one final clash, whaddya say?"

"That'll drive the crowd wild..."

"It'd better," Hades snapped as Pain and Panic came back with the boat. "I promised the crowd the event of their afterlives."

Hercules thought it best to say nothing, and instead he sat in the boat, waving as he left for the Underdrome.

"Sucker!" Hades laughed, staring ahead. "You know for me, the rest is smooth sailing."

Nexus' PoV

Okay, so after getting electrocuted and after delving into Auron's memories, we finally got the stupid statue back, and then you know what happened? Dusks happened.

"AAAH!" I screamed, throwing down my keyblade after fighting about two dozen of them. "This is getting nowhere!"

Just as I said that, though, luck proved me wrong. Suddenly little dog Heartless showed up, biting the Nobodies and distracting them.

"Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully.

"We'd better skedaddle!" Goofy said.

Well, I didn't skedaddle, but I definitely busted out of there like there was no tomorrow. The others were right behind me the whole time, and soon we had reached the Underworld entrance again. Pain was standing there, but Panic was gone.

"Ha!" the little guy laughed. "Hercules must be screaming for mercy by now! What?" He looked at us, blissfully unaware. "Did you come to see Hercules lose, too?"

"You could say that," I replied, jumping in the boat. The others followed suit.

Hercules' fight with Auron was still going on when we arrived. Auron cleaved downward with his sword, but Hercules dodged just in time. But then he realized he was right on the edge of the platform, and then Auron ran up and clasped the sword down onto Hercules, who blocked with his hands. He struggled to save himself, even falling down onto his knees. The movement reminded me of last night, and I shuddered.

"Now! Finish him!" Hades shouted, not seeing us as we hid in the shadows. We were like ninjas, just waiting stealthily.

"Auron, no!" Well, Sora went and ruined _that_.

"Hey, Auron! This belongs to you!" Donald shouted, and Sora tossed the statue into the fighting ring.

"WHA?!" I screamed, looking at him. WHY would he just THROW something that valuable?! He looked confident, though, and sure enough, the statue exploded onto Auron, and he relaxed, putting his sword down. Hercules, relieved, took the chance to catch his breath.

"Nexus. Sora. Donald. Goofy." Auron named us all.

"WHOO! He named me first!" I bragged, poking Sora's side.

"Auron!" we cried, overjoyed.

"Why those little--Ugh, prisoner!" Hades snapped from his throne, which looked like a good view. Pain and Panic were with him, looking terrified. "What happened to our mutual agreement? I can give you a clean slate, but you gotta work with me!"

"Maybe you didn't hear me," Auron sneered, picking up his sword. "This is my story, and you're not part of it."

Roaring with anger, Hades burned with fire and teleported near us onto the platform. Hmph. His fire was weak.

"That's it! This game is over. I've played by the rules so far," Hades yelled. "Okay, I confess! I was hoping Wonderboy would lose, but it was still a fair fight. C'mon, is that really so wrong? Huh?"

"Really? A fair fight?" Sora said, causing us all to snicker.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want!" Hades tried to imitate our laughter in a whiny voice. "Because the laughing is about to stop. Wanna know why? Because now we're gonna play by my rules."

With just a snap of his fingers, Hades opened a big gate, and soon we heard a scream. Next thing we knew, Meg was sitting there, suspended on a batch of clouds right over the River of Death. Fab.

"Meg!" Hercules cried.

"Hercules!" Meg cried back.

"Hey, I warned you right at the get-go," Hades declared. "You don't compete, you lose the girl."

He snapped his fingers once more, and Meg fell.

"No!" Hercules screamed, running to the edge. "Meg! Hang on!"

Hercules followed her right in, and Hades even checked to see if it was true. I was amazed that he would be that dedicated. It made me jealous.

"Looks like Wonderboy has dropped out of the standings," Hades told us as the stone gate behind him closed.

"Well, that was the way to go," I admitted, crossing my arms.

"Well, you've still got us to deal with!" Sora snapped. I gasped, laughing.

"Um, no. I did NOT sign up for this," I stated. "I am _not_ fighting."

"Nexus, c'mon!" Sora begged me, trying to pull me over, but I backed away.

"I'll watch, but I'm not fighting. There's no way I'd survive."

Looking around, I saw the narrow path to Hades' chair, and I followed it up, sitting down.

"Hello, boys," I said, smirking.

"Hello, Your Highness," they replied. I grinned.

"It's Nexus, but I could get used to _that_, too."

Sora and the others started to fight Hades, but I could tell that they weren't landing a solid hit anywhere on him. As long as he was red like that, he was invincible. After all, it was HIS underworld.

Sora finally backed off, frowning.

"We can't win," he said angrily.

"How come?" Donald whined.

"Because it's his Underworld," Auron said, echoing my thoughts. Huh. Good guy.

"Gee, then how do we beat him?" Goofy wondered.

And that was exactly why I wasn't down there. I mean, Axel never had to know about this, right? Right.

Hades was about to attack, when I saw the stone door open again. No one was there.

"That's weird," Panic hissed, sounding just like he was supposed to: panicked.

"I think a true hero should be able to help."

"No way!" the three of us sitting out shouted as Hercules appeared, glowing gold again like the first time I met him.

"But...you..." Hades growled, confused.

"I owe you one, Hades," Hercules said, walking toward them. Pegasus flew down immediately, standing by his master's side. "I didn't hesitate to give my life for Meg's. And then, I remembered: a true hero is measured by the strength of his heart." He put Meg down next to Pegasus, wanting her to get on. "I'll never forget that again."

"Just no more crazy stunts," Sora said, grinning.

Then Hercules murmured something to Sora, and whatever it was, it must've been funny, because his grin broadened even more. Pegasus whinnied, then flew away with Meg.

"What is so funny, you imbeciles!" Hades screeched. "How dare you get a happy ending! How DARE you!"

"Phew, I'm glad I'm not down there right now!" I said out loud.

"Yeah, it doesn't look too hot," Pain agreed.

"Haha, I can't help but disagree. It it Hades we're talking about."

Panic giggled. I sighed.

"I dunno. I can't help thinking this would probably be more fun if I was drunk."

Apparently I'm a hilarious drunk, but let's not talk about that..._yet_.

"Sorry, miss, we only serve non-alcoholic beverages due to risk of fires," Pain said.

"Understandable."

As I sat like a queen up there, watching, I thought of last night, and I started to worry.

_If something happens like that again,_ I told myself, _I might not make it through. Ansem always said there'd be a day when we'd destroy each other. It was almost last night._

"This isn't happening!" Hades cried, clutching his heart. Sora took a final swing at him, but Hades teleported away. I couldn't see where.

"It's...not over...yet..." he groaned, then yelped, and I heard a splash.

"Ooh, that sucks," I said, grimacing.

"He's gonna be pissed when he gets out of there!" Panic shrieked.

"You mean, IF he gets out of there," Pain said with a sly smile.

"'If'...'If' is good."

*~*~*

"What'cha gonna do now?" Donald asked Auron when they were outside the Underdrome again. Nexus had rejoined them, cheering like an idiot.

"I lived my life defending others," Auron said. "But now...there's no one left to protect. Maybe...it's time I shaped my own story."

"Yeah..." Sora agreed. "You deserve it, Auron--after everything you've been through."

Chuckling, Auron then said, "I suppose I should thank you."

"Not at all," Sora insisted, proud.

"Fine."

The four slumped at the irony as Auron turned around. Sora recovered quickly.

"I mean, sure, you could thank us a little..." he mumbled.

"You should say what you mean," Auron said, turning back to them. "I guess I could spare a few words. Thanks for meddling."

Slumping again, Nexus recovered this time.

"Well, that _was_ a few words," she sighed, watching Auron walk away.

They met their other friends up in the Coliseum, standing under the moonlight.

"Thanks again, guys!" Hercules exclaimed. "You're the best."

"Excuse us for meddling..." Donald quacked, looking away from the lovers.

"Aw...sounds like somebody's feathers are a little ruffled," Meg said, but Donald only glared more. "I'm kidding. Thank you, Sora, Nexus, Donald, Goofy."

"So where you guys headed next?" Hercules asked Nexus. She shrugged.

"Ask that one," she replied, jabbing her thumb at Sora. "He's, unfortunately, in charge."

"Aw, you know..." Sora began, grinning mischieviously. "You two _lovebirds_ seem to be getting along just fine without us hanging around."

Jumping, Meg and Hercules stepped away from each other, still smiling.

"Yeah, we gotta go," Donald said.

"Uh-huh, before we start meddlin'," Goofy chuckled. "A-hyuck!"

"Right," Sora agreed.

"Are you turkeys trying to put me out of a job?" Phil suddenly shouted, walking over. Nexus rolled her eyes. "If you keep acing every challenge, Champ, who am I gonna train?"

"Aw, you can't abandon me now, Phil!" Hercules cried. "I gotta be at the top of my game in case Hades shows up again."

Suddenly Donald jumped in front of Phil, getting right up in his face.

"Hey, are we true heroes yet?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Sora joined his feathered friend. "C'mon, Phil, how 'bout it?"

Pointing to himself, Sora put on his best "I'm-a-hero-so-come-get-some" face while Phil simply stroked his goatee.

"Lemme see now..." Phil muttered. "Well, you're not wise enough..."

Donald and Sora glared.

"Not quite...seasoned enough..." Nexus laughed at Donald's reaction. What a pun.

"Okay, okay, we get the hint!" Sora snapped.

"Look, kid, it's not my call!" Phil exclaimed.

"Aw, phooey," Donald muttered.

"Course if it was, you'd have no problem. I'd make you all heroes, in a heartbeat!"

Sora and Donald exchange glances, then looked at Phil again.

"Really?" Sora gasped.

"Say it again!" Donald insisted.

"On second thought, if those are your true 'hero' faces, you still got a lotta work to do," Phil said, walking away. Donald walked alongside him.

"Hey, what do you mean?" he quacked.

"Go away!" Phil shouted, running. Donald chased him. Seeing this, Sora followed them.

"Phil!" he whined.

"Leave me alone!"

"See that?" Meg suddenly asked Hercules.

"Well, whaddaya know..." the hero replied. Sora had to know, so he stopped and turned around, looking into the sky.

"YES!" he cried, watching the stars form his image in the sky. He pumped his fist into the air. Nexus laughed at him.

"I didn't even try," she bragged, hands on her hips, admiring her mirror image.

Scowling, Sora pushed her over and ran back to the ship.


	22. Chapter 22: High Stakes in the Game

Chapter 22: High Stakes in the Game (www . youtube . com/watch?v=gKZMbaGSJOc)

Memo: YES! I am SO happy for this chapter! XD

Nexus' PoV

"This place is pretty sweet," I decided when we reached Port Royal. Though the others had, I had never been to this world. So far, I was liking it.

As we walked along a rampart, I started to hear a strange noise coming from below us. I was about to say something, but Sora stopped, and I knew by his face that he heard it too.

"That's coming from the port," Goofy said, listening closely also.

"Let's check it out," Sora said.

It sounded like someone screaming, down there in the port. I wondered if it was one of Sora's friends.

When we reached the port, the screaming had stopped, but there was still some funny stuff going on. These skeleton-y pirates were chasing another pirate around as he tried to fight them off by himself. He had long black dreads and lots of strange little beads and charms all over his clothing.

"Jack!" Sora shouted, running over to him. So he was on our side. Good.

"Zola! Some assistance!" Jack shouted back at him over his shoulder.

"That's SORA, Donald, and Goofy! And this is Nexus!"

Well, if he WAS on our side, he wasn't obvious about it. You should at least know your allies' names.

"Will ye leave a mate to perish?"

"Aye aye..."

I noticed Jack's accent was kind of odd. Pretty, but odd. I had only once heard something similar, which made me wonder if that same kook wouldn't show up here.

"Hello, little lady," Jack said to me when I ran up beside him.

"I'm not little," I growled, scowling.

"Indeed? Well, if you wouldn't mind helping me out, I'll learn your real name and get on with it."

"Deal."

*~*~*

After defeating the cursed pirates, Sora sighed, wanting to throw his keyblade at Jack in frustration.

"Those pirates were cursed," Sora declared. "I'd thought we'd seen the last of the curse of the Aztec gold... What gives?"

"Some scallywag must've got greedy. Oh, I see..." Jack looked at Sora, who had raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't trust me, do you?" When they nodded, Jack grinned like a drunkard. "Likely a wise choice, I AM a pirate, mates."

"Jack! Sora!"

At the sound of a woman's voice, they all turned, knowing it was Elizabeth--except Nexus, who still didn't know what was going on.

"Elizabeth!" Sora exclaimed when she arrived. Jack pursed his lips.

_Some sticky business is afoot, I fear,_ he thought, starting to leave.

"Wait, Jack! I need your help," Elizabeth pleaded. "The cursed pirates have returned. Will had to find out why, so he went to Isla de Muerta--to check on the Aztec treasure. I fear something's happened. You have to take me to him."

"Aye, there it is," Jack said, gesturing awkwardly. "If you'll be wanting him rescued, best do it alone, lass."

_Is this guy just a big drunk?_ Nexus wondered as she observed his mannerisms. _Or is there seriously something wrong with him? I'm afraid to ask._

"Alone? Really, Jack?" Elizabeth's voice was leaded with sarcasm. "Sail to the island and take on the cursed pirates?"

"Well, if any lass could..." Jack pointed out.

"Are you sure he's in trouble?" Sora asked.

"No," Elizabeth admitted. "Not certain. But he's been gone too long. I wanted to go with him, but he insisted I stay here. I can't just sit and wait! I've got to know if he's all right."

"Lucky man..." Jack mumbled.

"Please, Jack! Take me to him!"

"Hold a moment. I see no profit in it for me."

"I shall reward you. Of course..." Elizabeth smirked. "...you do owe Will. He has saved your life before."

"Right." Jack didn't seem to take into account that last line; he was focused on the reward he might obtain. "Shall we?"

.........

"I've never been on a boat this big," Nexus was telling Sora as they sailed in the Black Pearl.

"Yeah, I think we ended up on two or three different boats last time we were here," Sora said. "It was ridiculous. The only person you can trust here is Elizabeth. Jack is crazy."

"So I've noticed. But what happened?"

Sora began to tell the story of the ancient treasure, when suddenly Goofy shouted something.

"Interceptor off the starboard bow!"

Everybody but Nexus starboard meant, so they rushed to the right side of the ship. There was a young man lying unconcious on the railing of the ship.

"Will!" Elizabeth cried, about to jump off of the ship. Jack bowed his head, placing a hand to his chest, as if to mourn Will's death. "Stop that, Jack. We've got to rescue him!"

"I'm on it," Sora said, jumping up onto the side of the Black Pearl. Jack, understanding, pulled the ship closer to Will, and they managed to grab Will. Elizabeth at his side, Sora and Jack carried Will into the Captain's Stateroom.

"Will, wake up," Elizabeth said, kneeling on the floor and holding him in her arms.

"Elizabeth..." Will murmured, his eyes fluttering open. He was an attractive man, with a kind light in his dark eyes.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"The medallions...and...the stone chest--someone's taken them..." Will took a deep breath, like he was having trouble staying concious. "Next thing I knew, we were attacked...but I couldn't see who it was--his face was shrouded...in a black hood."

"The Organization!" Sora exclaimed.

"Ten munny on Luxord," Nexus said, sighing.

"Is he all that's left?"

"No..."

"We found a way out of the cave...but the villain sent a horde of terrible creatures after us..." Will continued, not replying to the others' remarks. "I've never seen their likes before... I think I'm the only one who made it back to the ship..."

"Will..." Elizabeth murmured.

"Elizabeth... I feel rather..."

Will's head immediately went limp in Elizabeth's arms, so she laid him down on the floor so he could sleep.

"Our turn, guys," Sora said, looking at his friends.

"You'd best go prepared," Elizabeth told him, standing. "We've no idea what's out there."

"Pardon me, lads and lass, but your captain will have no monsters today," Jack said, stepping in. "Thank ye. We're turning for home." He swiftly turned around and marched himself out of the stateroom.

"Just like that?" Elizabeth snapped in disbelief.

"Just like that!"

Nexus' PoV

Sora and I exchanged frustrated looks with one another as Jack headed up to the deck. How were we supposed to get anything done when the guy with the boat wouldn't cooperate?!

"Don't remember invitin' you," we heard him say. I jumped. That meant we weren't alone.

Running upstairs, I arrived next to Jack, and looking out across the deck, I saw an Organization member, still hooded, with a treasure chest full of gold. Sweet.

"So it was the Organization," Sora said from beside me. "We'll handle this!"

"The Darkness of men's hearts--drawn to these cursed medallions; and this Heartless--" A huge Heartless swinging an axe appeared behind Luxord, who had yet to notice me. "--a veritable maelstrom of avarice: I wonder, are they worthy to serve Organization XIII?"

"And you want an answer now?" Jack asked.

"Precisely!" He glanced back at us, then jumped. "Well, well, we meet again, Nexus."

"Indeed, we do," I snorted, poking fun at his stiff manners. "And yet I do believe we're a bit wiser than when we left off, am I right? Or at least..._I _am."

"You think you're quite clever, don't you, you foul cur?" My hand fell to my gun. "Xemnas knows all about you and Axel, teaming up. You even tried to poison Demyx's mind, but he fell before you could, isn't that right?"

"We aren't trying to poison anyone's mind!" I growled, ignoring Sora's calls for me to help them fight the Heartless. They could handle it. "We're trying to exist, just like you. And yet..." I chuckled. "...And yet we approach it so differently. Apparently, according to you, destruction is the only means of survival, isn't that right, you disgusting bastard?"

"We only destroy those who stand in our way, such as yourself and your meddling friends," Luxord said, turning up his nose at me. If he weren't such a huge a-hole, he'd be slightly attractive. "And the more you meddle, the more you will lose."

"In case you forgot, it's my JOB to meddle," I said, laughing. "When Xemnas appointed me as the fourteenth member, my job was to obliterate the traitors in Castle Oblivion as a spy. Shows how much your existance is valued in the Organization, doesn't it?"

"You lying bitch!" Luxord snapped.

"Yes, thanks, I am. And there are plenty of names I could call you, but I shan't." I motioned to my friends, who had just defeated the Heartless. "After all, I'm sure they'll have some things to say before I annihilate you."

"Oh, boy!" Donald shouted when the Heartless fell overboard.

"Not over yet!" Sora said, turning to Luxord, who was still standing by the treasure chest. He unhooded himself, smirking at Sora, then at me.

"Throw him overboard!" Jack commanded Sora.

"Aye aye!" Geez, Sora made such a lame pirate...

"Parley!" Luxord shouted, and I wrinkled my nose in confusion. Sounded like an herb.

"'Scuse me?" Jack gasped.

"Barley?" Goofy said. Yeah, that's what I was thinkin'...

"It's a bit of a pirates' code," Jack explained. "Anyone who invokes 'parley' must not be harmed 'til negotiations are complete."

_Huh, that's handy,_ I thought. I stored the information for later.

"This is no time for rules!" Sora shouted angrily.

"True. But as we're honorable pirates we should always stick to the Code." Jack turned to Luxord. "All right, you. Out with it!"

"I surrender the chest with my humblest apologies," Luxord said.

"_You?_ Humble?" I snorted.

"Rather accommodating of you, mate," Jack remarked. "And for that you want...?"

"Just a few souvenirs...for the memories."

Before anyone could stop him, Luxord grabbed a handful of medallions.

"Huh?" Jack grunted as Luxord threw them into the air. Suddenly Nobodies--presumably the ones Luxord had charge of--appeared and snatched up the gold, disappearing.

"Oh, no! We can't stop the curse unless we got all the medallions!" Goofy cried.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I muttered to Goofy, glaring at Luxord.

"Our friend's about to learn what it means to cross a pirate," Jack sneered.

"Oh?"

Suddenly the Heartless that my friends were SUPPOSED to have _KILLED_--yeah, great job with that one, guys--came out of the water, cursed by the medallions. It swung its axe, and the five of us went flying through the air, landing on the deck of the Interceptor.

"Fire!"

"BASTARD!" I shouted, just as the Black Pearl's cannons shot at us.

.........

"You stole a medallion again?" Sora said.

My eyes fluttered open to see Jack standing there, looking similar to the cursed pirates we fought earlier. Who knows how long I had been out. We could've spent days floating out at sea, but I didn't suppose it was very long at all--I was already half dry. Now we were trapped in the ruins of the Interceptor, which would likely never sail again.

"Were I only that fortunate..." Jack replied to Sora's remark, looking at his bony hand.

"Fortunate?" Donald quacked, confused.

"So, uh, how come you're all skeleton-y?" Goofy asked.

"Perhaps I got a tough o' somethin' from that monster what attacked us," Jack supposed, turning to us. "Yet, why's the skin restin' right on you four?"

"'Cause we're not greedy!"

Everyone stared at Donald with a total "WTF?" face. I don't think any of us bought that.

"What're you looking at?" Donald muttered, but we ignored him, as usual.

"That still doesn't solve the mystery," Sora said quietly as Jack stepped out of the moonlight. I finally got to my feet.

"Gawrsh..." Goofy said. "Maybe the reason we're all okay is because we're not from this world."

"There must be different laws," Donald agreed.

"Yeah...we're always just passing through..." Sora sighed, bowing his head a little. "Wonder when we'll see home again..."

"Sora..." Donald murmured. He looked genuinely sad, then suddenly his spiky-haired head popped up, a grin on his face.

"Just kiddin' you," he laughed. "Lucky we didn't get cursed, huh?"

"You're such a kid," I teased.

"Quit yammerin', mates!" Jack shouted at us. "We've got to find ourselves a ship that'll float."

"Well, we won't find one here," I said. "Let's check outside."

*~*~* (www . youtube . com/watch?v=u77Bzd3QH_w)

Though they were in a ship graveyard, there were no usable ships in sight. In fact, the first thing they came upon of value had nothing to do with a ship. Instead, it was one of the Nobodies Luxord had summoned earlier, appropriately called a Gambler.

"Look!" Donald shouted when he saw one. It was juggling a medallion in the air.

"A medallion!" Jack shouted, pulling out his sword. "Get it!"

The five chased after the Nobody, trying to corner it, sometimes hitting each other instead of their target. They chased it up onto an unsteady wooden platform, where other enemies appeared. But finally, Sora managed to strike it one last time with his keyblade, and the Nobody faded, leaving behind the medallion.

"Three more to go!" Jack said cheerfully as he picked up the small piece of gold.

"How do you know?" Sora asked, unconvinced and amazed at the same time.

"A pirate must have a keen eye," Jack replied. "Else he won't be sailin' free for very long. Savvy?"

"Huh? What's that?" Donald wondered.

"When did you get so observant?" Nexus asked him, shocked.

Beyond the ruins, the party could see a ship approaching. Elizabeth was standing on the railing, waving her arms.

"Ahoy, mateys!" she cried.

"Ridiculous imitation--and yet, I'm flattered," Jack muttered, preparing to board the ship.

.........

"Jack, what happened?" Elizabeth asked, horrified at Jack's skeletal form. "This is horrible!"

"Ah, but who's to blame for it, eh?" Jack retorted, still sore about sailing out in the first place. He wanted his reward.

"Well, it certainly isn't Elizabeth," Will said defensively.

"It's Organization XIII," Sora declared. "They're the ones behind it all."

"Specifically Luxord," Nexus agreed, nodding.

"Wonder where they went," Goofy said.

"The hooded man took the pirates and his creatures with him into some strange hole," Will explained. "We saw them leave from inside the captain's stateroom."

"Didn't occur to you to fight them, mate?" Jack asked.

"I'm no fool. I knew I was no match for them."

"That I believe."

"Sora, I think we'll need your help," Will said, turning to said keyblade wielder.

"Got it," Sora said, nodding once.

"First, let's find all the medallions. Otherwise, the curse can't be broken and the creatures will remain invincible."

So Sora, Jack, Nexus, Donald, and Goofy sailed out to every place they had ever been together, searching for the Gamblers and finding the medallions. It didn't take as long as they had thought, but it definitely took longer than they wanted. Soon, though, the other three medallions were accounted for, and they could take the next step in their plan of attack.

"That's four medallions!" Sora exclaimed, holding the four gold coins in his hand. Nexus peered at them. "We got 'em all!"

_They're pretty,_ she thought. _Too bad we have to return them._

"But where's the chest?" Jack asked impatiently.

"If we find the hooded man, we'll find it," Will said.

"Prob'ly in Port Royal," Sora suggested, shrugging.

"Why's that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Organization XIII is after people's hearts. So they're gonna go where there's lots of people."

"There are lots of people here, you know," Nexus pointed out. Sora rolled his eyes at her.

"Not as many as the town would have."

"True."

"They'll hurt the townsfolk?" Will wondered.

"No, they're bringin' 'em flowers, mate," Jack snarled, his sarcasm switch on. "I don't know who these Organizers are, but I will say they're makin' we pirates look like proper gents."

Spitting out his last words like venom, Jack marched up the stairs to steer the ship.

"Well, Jack...then...we have to help!" Will shouted up to him. Jack was already ready to go.

"Then let go and haul to run free!" Jack shouted back.

.........

Upon arriving at the harbor, the cursed Heartless was waiting for them, but Luxord was not.

_Damn_, Nexus thought, looking around. _What a disappointment._

"Go!" Jack said to the others, staring the Heartless down. "He's for me."

Running in one direction, Jack led the Heartless away from the treasure chest and all around, playing a quick game of cat and mouse.

"Now to break that curse!" Sora said, dropping in the medallions. The Heartless immediately became uncursed.

"The curse--it's gone!" Donald cried in joy.

"Then what's this?" Jack said, looking at his still skeleton body.

"Aw, I understand," Goofy said. Nexus shot him a look of disbelief. "Jack musta been cursed by that monster, not from takin' the gold."

"Oh, I've no worries, then," Jack said, the sarcasm back.

"It's okay, Jack," Sora assured him. "We'll just have to defeat the monster, that's all."

"Don't jinx it!" Nexus shouted, covering his mouth. But it was too late. The Heartless had already swung its giant axe and knocked some of the gold out of the chest, bringing back the curse.

"Get the gold!" Jack cried, scurrying around with some medallions in one hand and his sword in another.

"Somebody has to distract it, then!" Nexus shouted.

"I will!" Donald said, and he launched a big thunder spell at the Heartless. To everyone's surprise, the Heartless quivered, dropping gold everywhere.

"Whoa! That actually worked!" Jack and Nexus shouted in unison.

"Well, Nexus, great minds think alike," Jack then said to her, raising his eyebrows suggestively. She smirked.

"But whose is the greatest?" she asked.

"We'll just have to find out!"

.........

"All better," Sora said as the Heartless fell to the ground, defeated once and for all.

"Ah, not quite, mate," Jack told him, now back to a normal human again--well, he was as normal as he could get.

Anyway, Luxord was Jack's reason for distress. He stood there as the Heartless' heart floated up into the air. Catching it for a moment, he sent it up to Kingdom Hearts.

"Sora, bravo," he said, then eyed Nexus with a gleam in his eyes.

Suddenly the harbor went black with smoke, and when it cleared, Luxord was holding Nexus by the neck with her own gun to her head.

Nexus' PoV

_Frock_, I thought, shaking all over. _If this is how I die, I'm gonna be pissed._

"Nexus!" Sora cried, his blue eyes getting huge. He started toward me, but I heard an ominous click coming from my gun, and Sora stopped.

"Come any closer, and she dies," Luxord said simply, his grip on my throat tightening a little.

"What do you want?!" Sora shouted. "Let her go!"

"Yes, but for a price. Or it's her life."

Glancing at the side of my head, I saw him holding my gun like a natural, and I knew he had planned this from the start.

"Take me then!" Sora cried angrily.

"Oh?"

_No, Sora,_ I thought, _don't say that!_

"Take me instead, I said!"

"Now that might be an offer I can't refuse," Luxord said, looking at me from over my head so that his face appeared upsidedown to me. (Am I really that short? Guess I am...)

Near tears, I tried to talk through choking, struggling to move. Whatever he was doing to me, it was paralyzing.

"Don't!" I managed to cry out. "Sora!"

"Nexus!" Sora shouted, about to take a step closer.

"NO!" I shouted back, a plan suddenly coming to my mind. "P--..." Oh, what was the word? "P-Parley!"

Everyone went dead silent.

"Parley!" I screamed. "Parley, dammit! I'm envoking parley!"

"Follow the code," Jack said eerily, and Luxord let go of my throat.

"Name your terms," he said with an ice cold tone.

"I want a fair trial," I snapped, looking at Luxord. "Don't harm Sora, don't even involve him. Just me."

Luxord thought about this for a moment, like he seriously might go ahead and shoot me anyway.

"Agreed," he said with a sneer, grabbing me by the shoulder and opening a portal.

"Nexus..." Sora said quietly.

"Don't worry," I told him, smirking. "I've got this."

*~*~*

"Don't worry about her, Sora," Donald told him as they watched Luxord drag Nexus away into a portal.

"How can I not?" he mumbled under his breath.

"Just who was that chap?" Jack asked.

"He's part of an Organization that's collecting hearts," Sora explained. "First they release Heartless into different worlds. We defeat those Heartless. Then they get the hearts." He sighed. "We're never gonna stop 'em like this."

"What's the plan, then?" Jack prodded as Will and Elizabeth walked over.

"We gotta find their stronghold and finish them off once and for all," Sora decided.

"Sailin' these waters, I've heard some tales, but not a one like this."

"Is there any way we can help?" Will asked. Sora thought for a moment, but his mind was still consumed with Nexus' fate.

"Anything at all?" Elizabeth asked.

"There is," Jack said suddenly.

.........

"She's gotten out of worse things before," Goofy told Sora, who was still a little upset. "She'll come back. She must have a plan."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sora finally agreed.

"Try not to worry about your bonnie lass," Jack said. Sora glared at him. "It's certain we don't need the likes of that hooded fellow and the Heartless about. They'll ruin the market for us true pirates."

"So that's why you went to Port Royal," Elizabeth said. "And we thought you actually wanted to save everyone."

"A pirate always looks to profit, Miss Swann," Jack said with a smirk.

"Too bad," Sora sighed, smirking back. "You had us going there, thinking you'd turned over a new leaf."

"The question is, what's beyond the leaf? Savvy?"

"Oh...oh, yes--a reward," Elizabeth said, suddenly remembering her agreement. She had obviously pushed it to the back of her mind. "And what'll it be?"

"That lovely blade of Sora's," Jack replied smugly.

"Huh?" Donald and Sora gasped, but then Sora smirked again, nodding.

"Okay," he said, summoning the keyblade. "Sure."

Flipping the hilt, he held out the blade to Jack, who hesitated.

"Hold on!" he cried. "That was far too easy. What's the rub?"

Taking it anyway, he admired it for a moment, but the keyblade went right back to Sora, its true master.

"There, you see?" Jack sighed.

"Well, you've always got the Pearl, Jack," Sora pointed out.

"That I do. But someday, I'll gather a blood-thirsty crew, and come to take that blade. Chance by then I'll have the way to wield it." Jack turned to Will and Elizabethn. "And if I succeed, I'll ask you two to join me. That'd be reward enough."

"Done," Elizabeth agreed.

"Maybe someday, Jack'll be able to use the Keyblade after all," Goofy said.

"Why's that?" Donald asked.

"A-hyuck! He and Sora are kind of alike, dontcha think?"

"Are not!" Sora and Jack said in perfect unison. They looked at each other, embarrassed, then joined in on the others' laughter.

For a moment, Sora forgot what might be going on on the other side...


	23. Chapter 23: United

Chapter 23: United (www . youtube . com/watch?v=YnM4gSOIg5Y)

Memo: This chapter is the introduction of one of my fave characters, "E." That isn't her full name, as you'll come to find out, but...you'll see. :D Note that this entire chapter is told from Nexus' PoV until the end.

Nexus' PoV

"Ouch," I muttered as Luxord threw me on the floor. We were somewhere in the Castle That Never Was, near the "residential quarters," where I had been once before. "Gee, this place hasn't changed much," I said, laughing. Luxord glared at me.

"Well, it will be the last place you will ever see," he remarked.

"Hey, what about my trial?" I asked, standing.

"You'll get it, but even if you WEREN'T guilty of anything, do you really think you'd win?"

I shrugged.

"With a good lawyer, maybe."

Sighing with frustration, Luxord pointed to my gun holster.

"I must take anything that could be used as a weapon," he said, ripping the thing right off of me.

"Whoa, hey!" I shouted as he came a little too close for comfort. "Good touch, bad touch, please and thanks!"

"Fine." He looked me over, then pointed to my belt.

"What, this?" I tugged on it, glancing at him. He looked dead serious. "Seriously?" He held out his hand impatiently, as if he was about to undo it himself. "Save yourself the effort," I snapped, ripping it off of me and slapping it in his palm. The leather must've hurt a bit, because he winced briefly, then narrowed his eyes again.

"Come with me," he said, opening a door next to us.

We stepped into a dimly lit room with no windows. I saw some old chains on the wall, and a little stump below them. It looked like it hadn't been used too recently.

"Wow, not a lot of customers lately, huh?" I teased him. His face didn't move.

"You will be the first to use this room since Axel," he said.

Well...he knew how to shut me up, I'll give him that.

Taking my arm, Luxord led me over to the wall.

"Stand on that," he commanded me, pointing to the tiny stump on the wall.

"I think I'm too fat," I laughed.

Apparently he didn't find that funny, because he literally picked me up and forced me to stand there.

The second my body touched the wall, I felt my wrists become trapped. Yelping, I looked over to see the once-lifeless chains holding on to my arms, pulling me just above the stump, leaving me hanging there in the shape of a "y."

"Your trial will be within the next three days," Luxord said curtly.

"Three days?!" I snapped. "What happened to my right to a fair and speedy trial?"

"Your parley never said anything about speed," he growled, disappearing through the door, which disappeared behind him.

I swear, had I buffer arms, I would've ripped the chains right off the walls and strangled him. Instead I just screamed, frustrated beyond myself.

After I calmed down, my eyes fell on the single light in the whole room: a burning torch directly across from me.

"You..." I murmured, lowering my head.

I really was hoping I would somehow come up with a plan to get myself out of this mess. Or plan B, which involved Axel just coming in, finding me, and busting me out. But if he had been trapped in here before...

_I wonder why he was in here,_ I thought. _Maybe they tortured him._

Just at the very thought of this, I burst into tears.

"No!" I shouted, looking into the fire. "I need you..."

I had often heard of people falling madly in love as a kid, and even as a teenager. I had witnessed some events during my times with Sora. But never in a million years would I have thought the same thing could..._would_ happen to me. I didn't think my heart could handle that sort of intense emotion.

I had never needed someone so much in my whole entire life, nor had I ever wanted someone that much. For Axel, I would do anything. ...Even though I knew it was impossible for him to feel that way about me.

Still, something in me wanted him to come and rescue me.

But, being realistic, I started to devise plans of how to escape.

The biggest problem was simply getting out of the chains. I could've just cut my wrists to death with them, eventually shaving off so much of my hands that I just slid right through. Or, if I propped up my feet the right way, I could push against the wall and try to break the chains off of the wall.

But no matter what crazy solutions I came up with, each of them were extinguished with a jolt of realism.

Or just falling asleep.

I was starting to lose track of the days. There was no window to tell me if it was day or night. The circulation in my hands was going away more and more quickly.

Yeah, life was good.

No, life was horrible. I could only thing about two things: Axel--which was definitely okay to think about--and escaping--which made me hurt all over. I had to get out. I had to.

At one point, who knows how much longer after Luxord had left me there, he finally came back. He was hooded, and he didn't say a word.

"What, no cold remarks today?" I asked, coughing.

He didn't reply, just looked at me from where the door was supposed to be.

"C'mon, let's get this trial over with," I then said, sighing.

Again, no response.

"Luxord?"

"Luxord?" the man echoed. "Is that who you think I am?"

"Well, not anymore," I admitted after the man's response. There was no strange accent, and his voice was far too deep to be blondie. "Who are you then?"

The man threw back his hood, and I gasped, relieved and pretty much about to pee myself.

"I need to peeeee!" I cried.

Sighing, Riku waved his hand, and I fell onto the floor, running into a corner.

"Don't look!" I shouted.

"Nexus," Riku said, sighing again, "I can take you to a restroom."

"Oh?"

.........

When we returned back to my cell, I turned to him, surprised to see him still in that nasty Xehanort's Heartless form.

"How long have I been here?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.

"Probably a full day," he replied. "We've been looking for your cell as soon as we knew you were here. But there are hundreds, some of them have never been used."

"Huh," I muttered. _We_? I wondered who else. Surely not Axel?

"Actually, I'm surprised you haven't escaped yet," Riku scoffed. I pouted. "You know, this cell has only been used twice. Besides you, I mean. And both of those people escaped."

"Axel, I know," I said. "But who else?"

"Well..." Riku began.

Suddenly another person opened a portal into the room. He was dressed in an Organization robe.

"Oh no," I murmured.

"Don't worry," Riku said, walking over to him. He was super short, but not as short as the King.

Suddenly he started talking very quickly and quietly in a language I couldn't understand. And by the voice, I realized he was a she. She spoke quickly and with purpose, gesturing around the room. Riku answered her in short sentences of the same language.

"Oh!" she cried, looking at me. "Wow! This is her!?"

Hurrying over to me, she peered into my face, but I couldn't see any of hers; it was shrouded by her hood.

"You're Nexus, then?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Wow! You're so pretty!" she exclaimed, touching my hair. She was almost a half a foot shorter than me, with a slightly nasal high-pitched voice. "Don't worry about a thing. We're busting you out of here!"

Before I could ask, she opened a portal and disappeared.

"Who was that supposed to be? Your girlfriend?" I teased Riku as he watched her go.

"Actually, yeah, she is," he replied.

"...Oh." Well...I felt stupid.

"Her name is E... Well, that's what I call her anyway," he said. "She was the other prisoner besides you and Axel in this cell. If anyone knows her way around this place, it's her."

"Really? Well, okay," I said, hope returning, "then let's 'bust me out' of here. What should we do?"

.........

"Remember, Nexus," Riku said as he opened a portal. I was already chained back onto the wall, my freedom short-lived. "E will shoot the light if you say "I win" under _any_ circumstance. She's really literal. So don't mess up."

"I won't," I murmured. "Just don't forget to tell her what to do."

Riku smirked before hooding himself once more.

"Don't worry. We've got you covered," he said, heading through the portal, leaving me alone again.

Now I could think about a few more things.

Who exactly was this mysteriously bubbly "E"? She seemed nice enough, but why would the Organization capture her? And how did Riku find her? She must've been a being of darkness at some point if she could open portals. There was a big piece of the puzzle that I was definitely missing regarding her.

And then there was our plan. I was finally going to get out of here and get my stuff back and maybe even get some decent sleep. And food. I hadn't eaten in probably over twenty-four hours.

E...

My thoughts kept going back to her. What language was that? She spoke it so quickly, but it wasn't an ugly sound. It was flowing and beautiful, like a river. Even when Riku spoke it shortly and quietly it was pretty.

Where did she come from? I hadn't ever seen her or even heard of her before this.

Why would the Organization capture a girl as harmless as her? At least, she sounded pretty innocent. I mean, maybe she was a crazy assassin, but I didn't think so. So why would they feel the need to lock her up in this cell? Who busted her out?

Well, _that_ I could answer: Riku. He probably heard her screaming or something and helped her. That was probably how they first met, and who knows what happened from there.

But again, why would she be a prisoner in the first place? From the way the cell looked, it was probably reserved for the highest of crimes, perfect for me and Axel.

Axel...

Somehow, my mind warped right back to thoughts of him, and I wanted to scream. I tried to concentrate on keeping the blood flowing in my hands, but my mind wandered too easily, what with nothing else to do.

I need you, I thought. I need you. I need you. Why are you not here? Why did Riku come, and not you?

"Don't leave me alone!" I shouted into the quiet air. "Don't give up!"

My voice echoed, a lonely prescense through the cell.

Tears streaming down my face, I lowered my head, screaming in agony.

"Where are you?!"

.........

"Rise and shine," a voice growled, and the next thing I knew, my body hit the hard stone floor. My hands were numb; I had to have fallen asleep. "Your trial awaits."

I looked up to see Luxord glaring down at me. Without using my tingling hands, I got to my feet, staggering a little. I was starving, and I really needed to pee again. I told him this.

"You won't have to worry about that much longer," he said, forcing my hands behind my back. Like a prisoner.

Suddenly I remembered the previous day's conversation with Riku, and I nearly started laughing.

"Nope, guess I won't," I agreed, snickering a little.

I felt handcuffs around my wrists, which were now tingling a little less and regaining feeling a little more.

"Come," Luxord ordered, pushing me by my shoulders into a portal. Soon we were outside of the cell.

"Couldn't you have just teleported me to the trial?" I asked, scrunching my nose. "Or is this all just for dramatic effect?"

"Try the latter. This is my order."

"Fair enough."

Besides, the journey gave me enough time to think over ways to say the code. There were a lot of circumstances.

Finally, after probably ten unnecessary minutes of traveling, we reached the trial room, which I immediately recognized. It was the very first room I ever saw of the castle, when I was first inducted. It was the room where everyone went to be announced in to the Organization. Only now, there was a little circular platform with a rail up to my hips in the middle of the raised platform that was the centerpiece of the room.

There was only one light on, just as Riku had said: a single lamp over my head. It was still enough light to see my surroundings, though. All thirteen chairs surrounded me, but only four were occupied: Saix, Xigbar, Luxord, and of course, Xemnas. My eye caught the chair where Axel once sat, and I shook my head quickly, trying to unfog my brain.

"Well, well, well." Xemnas' voice boomed across the tiny room. "Look who we have here. Nexus."

"Long time no see," I said, grinning. "Gosh, seems like there are less and less of you every day!"

No one laughed.

"Tough crowd," I muttered, glancing around. Riku and E were no where to be seen yet.

"Saix, read the charges."

"This should be good!" I cheered, laughing. Seriously, this was going to be hilarious.

"High treason," Saix read off from a list, "four counts of assisted murder of our members..." Seriously? Only four? "...conspiring with traitors, and assisting traitors in our demise."

"Oh, come on, that's it?" I asked in disbelief. "No, that's not. I should have one count of assisted arson in there, and one of the assisted murders was just me."

The four remaining members just stared.

"No, really, you think I'm kidding?" I laughed. "Axel and I burned down Castle Oblivion, and I killed Lexaeus pretty much single-handedly."

"Indeed," Xemnas said, using his favorite word.

"Indeed," I agreed with a smirk. I wasn't smirking because I was right. I was smirking because E and Riku were standing right in front of me, hidden in the shadows.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Luxord said angrily. "She is guilty of all crimes charged, and others she has mentioned."

"Ah, Nexus, always ratting yourself out," Xigbar laughed.

"Yeah? You think you're funny?" I said, getting antsy because I really needed to pee and hoping E was paying attention. "Well guess what? I _am_ guilty. I admit it. I did it all! But you know what? It doesn't even matter. Look around you! You're all going to lose. And you know what that means? _I win_."

E fired the shot with perfect timing and perfect aim, blasting the light bulb into pieces and darkening the whole room. Amidst the cries and shouts of surprise, I jumped over the railing, no-handed, and landed near E.

"Nexus!" E hissed, grabbing me and pulling me into safety. With one swift move, she somehow cut off my handcuffs, freeing me up at last.

"Thanks," I whispered. "Where is Riku?"

"On the other side of Xemnas' throne," she replied quickly. "Here's your gun and your gun holster and your...belt." She piled my stuff into my arms, and I started equipping as she spoke. "It was good to finally meet you! You seem really awesome. Hopefully we'll meet again--"

Suddenly a bright light whizzed in between our faces. I recognized Xigbar's laser bullet and his unmistakable laugh.

"Gotcha!" he shouted, firing again.

"Hurry!" E cried, pushing me out of the way and disappearing through a portal herself.

Sprinting around Xemnas' throne, I dodged several bullets and ducked into the shadows, panting, adrenaline doing its thing.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I yelped quietly, thinking it was Luxord or Xigbar.

"It's me," Riku said quietly, opening a portal.

"Thank the higher power," I murmured, hugging him.

"Get out of here, and don't come back," he told me. "Next time it won't be so easy to bust you out."

And with those last words, Riku threw me into the portal.

"See you around. Protect my best friend, would you?"

.........

The next thing I knew, I was hitting the carpet of our gummi ship, gasping for breath.

"Nexus!?"

Donald and Goofy rushed over, helping me up. That was the first time I got a good look at my wrists: they were caked with blood. Donald cured me as Sora came over, looking at me with a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Well?" I shouted, breathless. "Aren't you going to yell at me? Or call me reckless? Or say you thought I died?"

"...Nah," Sora replied, smirking. "By now, I'm used to it."

Sighing, I got to my feet, hugging the spiky brunette.

"Yeah, well, let's hope that never happens again," I said, running to the bathroom. "You'd think a prison would have better bathrooms!"

*~*~*

"I need you!"

The blonde looked up from the story he had been reading and sighed. Her cries were getting more and more desparate each night. Tonight she had added a new phrase to the bunch.

"Axel..."

Though she was screaming and crying a bit now, tossing and turning, this night was not the worst. The most awful was the night back from Beast's Castle. Her screaming was not only intense, but overwhelmingly sad.

"Please..."

Glancing back at the story, he realized he had caught up to where she'd left off, and he thought he might go grab something to eat. He tossed the story under her bed, sighing again.

_I'll be glad when this nightmare is over,_ he thought, walking out of the room with a last glance at Nexus. _But there's only one way it can end...when he dies._


	24. Chapter 24: Kiss or Kill

Chapter 24: Kiss or Kill (www . youtube . com/watch?v=B2pomOW0uak --this one has subtitles!)

Memo: MY FAVE!!! Well, not really, but a close second. 3

Nexus' PoV

It was probably around one in the morning when I heard the strange noise. It sounded like something--or some_one_--was messing around in our kitchen. I figured it was Sora at first, but when I looked over at his bunk, he was still there, quiet with sleep. The noises continued. Someone was trying to be sneaky...and was failing miserably.

I quietly grabbed my gun and fastened the holster around my leg. Whoever the heck it was was about to learn the consequences of breaking and entering.

Slinking out through the bedroom door, I shut said door behind me and tiptoed to the edge of the kitchen wall. The idiot was still there! Whoever it was didn't care, apparently.

I counted myself down for attack mode.

_Three...two...one._

I whipped around the wall, gun ready to kill. And then I saw the culprit, almost screaming when my eyes landed on his spiky blonde hair. He had the bread bag in his mouth and various sandwich ingredients in his arms.

"..._Roxas_?" I gasped, lowering my gun.

"Hey, Nexus," he said, dropping the bread on the counter and closing the refridgerator. This would've been funny had I not been so pissed.

"What are you doing here?!" I ran over to him as he turned his back to me.

"What does it look like?" he replied, looking at me out of the corner of his mischievious blue eyes.

"Raiding the fridge?"

He nodded.

"But...but how are you even here? What about Sora?" I asked, almost afraid to know.

"See for yourself."

Glaring at him for not giving me a more direct answer, I dashed back to the bedroom and took a closer look at Sora. He looked asleep...or maybe dead.

"Sora?" I mouthed, reaching out to touch his shoulder. My hand went through him, and it took every ounce of self-control not to scream in horror.

"What did you _do_?!" I hissed as soon as I exited the bedroom and saw Roxas again.

"This happens almost every night," he replied, taking a bite of the sandwich. It looked really good...and I was still hungry from being locked up. He didn't bother to share, though, but he kept talking. "Normally I just hang out around here and stuff." He waved a finger at me, trying to chomp down another bite before continuing. "I've been reading that story you wrote about yourself." I felt my face get red and hot.

"That's--"

"Private? I knew you loved Axel _before_ I read _that_." He sat on the countertop. "Did you know you talk in your sleep?" I shook my head; no one had ever mentioned that before. "Not a lot, just sometimes. Lately it's been worse, but...anyway, that's how I figured out how much you care about him."

I glared at Roxas, shaking with anger.

"I know, I know. It's my fault he abandoned you," he admitted, avoiding eye contact. "And I understand I'm making it worse by running from him. But...he doesn't understand." Roxas shook his head slowly. "I still have a shot at being whole. Axel has nowhere to go but darkness, just like Demyx and the others. I mean, do you even know how he died? You should ask him some time."

I bit my lip hard. He spoke so calmly about it, as if the whole situation was fine.

"I'm sorry, Nexus, but you know it's true, too. And I can guarantee Xemnas' plan won't work."

"I concur," I said. "That was obvious from the start."

"Yeah." Roxas frowned. He looked a _lot _like Sora with that sort of expression. "It's not like I don't feel bad."

"I know..." I sighed heavily. "He...doesn't realize it yet. He's in denial because he wants to save his friends." A sudden thought popped into my head that hadn't been bothering me until just now. "Wait, Roxas. Namine."

"What about her?"

"Well, what will happen to _her_?"

"Namine is the same story as me," Roxas said, smiling. He obviously was happy about that turnout, too. "We're really lucky. We know we are."

"Do you think I'll ever see her again, though?"

Roxas shrugged, then he paused, completely still.

"Uh oh. I'm gone," he mumbled, opening a portal in a split second. As he disappeared into it, not leaving behind his food, and closed it behind him, another portal opened in front of me. The hooded figure walked out, his back toward me. I didn't dare move, thinking it might be Luxord back for revenge. But when the figure removed his hood, I relaxed, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

"Well, hey there stranger," I said, crossing my arms.

Axel whipped around, obviously startled. When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow; I did the same.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"...I can see both of your eyes," he replied.

I gasped, putting a hand over my face. HE WAS RIGHT! I had pinned my hair back earlier that night and totally forgot. Now he could see my full face and all of its assymetrical-ness. GAH! (Seriously, it's really not that bad. It's just my pet peeve. One of my eyes is slightly bigger than the other. It's annoying.)

Immediately I removed the bobby pin from my hair, letting my bangs cover up my eye again.

*~*~*

Nexus slid the bobby pin over the fold-over waist of her hot pink shorts. Axel shook his head, not getting the point at all. She stuck out her tongue at him a little.

"So. What brings you here at this late hour of the night?" she asked, re-crossing her arms.

"...This will sound stupid, but I think Roxas might've been here," Axel replied. Bounty hunter, much?

"He was," she confirmed, nodding a little.

Axel quickly grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you serious? What did he say? Where did he go?"

"Yes, a lot, and I have no idea, but he managed to take some of our food with him before he left."

Axel released Nexus and opened another portal. But before he could step inside, Nexus grabbed his arm tightly, stunning him and making him stop.

"Wouldn't you like to know exactly _what _he said?" she asked, her eyes begging him to stay. She was NOT going to let him go that easily. It was all she could do to make him stay even another minute.

To her relief, the portal closed.

"What?" Axel asked, monotone.

Nexus hesitated before releasing his arm. "Keep in mind these were his words, not mine. ...He...basically said he didn't want or need your help...again."

She watched as Axel's face fell.

"Did...he say why?" he asked slowly.

"He said that...since Sora' alive, he'd have that way of being whole...and you..."

Axel broke eye contact, not wanting to address that subject. Those were memories he'd rather forget, but never could.

"He knows you're just trying to help, but really he doesn't need it. You--"

"You're just agreeing with him because you want me to give up."

"I'm agreeing with him because he's _right_." Nexus glared at the floor, focusing her anger there instead of Axel. "I know you're beyond ever staying for good. I lost hope for that a while ago. It doesn't matter what I say or what I do. You're not coming back."

Axel narrowed his eyes a bit. "I know. I heard about yesterday." A smile crept onto his face, his whole visage brightening. "Reeking havoc in the World That Never Was, huh?"

"Some things don't change," she admitted, grinning and locking her eyes back with his. There was a distant glow in them that she remembered from a while ago, back when things were better.

"You're reckless, though," Axel told her, his smile fading.

"Would you rather have me dead?" Nexus asked, taken aback.

"No. But at this rate, that's how you'll end up."

Nexus frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

They stared each other down for a moment, then Nexus closed her eyes, irritated, and sighed.

"I'll try," she said, her eyes fluttering back open. "So, what're _you_ gonna do now?"

"I...just don't know," Axel replied, looking at the floor. "I can't...really do anything. What can I say? I'm stuck." He turned his back to Nexus. "... ...Roxas is fine. ...I obviously can't go back to the Organization, and if I go with you, you'll be in even more danger than you already are, especially after yesterday... Maybe...my time is up."

"You're not making any sense," Nexus mumured, her voice shaking. No, it made sense. She just didn't want it to be true.

"I have..._nothing_ left. Maybe I never had anything to start with." Axel sighed. "What do you think, Nex?"

He turned back around to see Nexus with her own gun to her head.

"Not another word," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"See, _this _is my point from earlier! You're being _reckless_!"

"I SAID--" She stomped her foot. "NOT ANOTHER _WORD_!"

Axel glared at her.

"You wanna know what _I_ think? Here's what _I_ think: YOU'RE BEING EMO! You're thinking emo thoughts, at least!" Her voice was becoming more and more constricted as she went on. "Are you even _listening_ to yourself?!"

Nexus' PoV

I exhaled sharply before I continued. My heart was thundering in my chest, but I couldn't think about it, because then I thought about how he didn't have a heart and would never have one, and my anger would just destroy me.

"Don't you remember the deal we made almost a year and a half ago? Y'know, partners, _no matter what?_ Did you forget about that or something? Because I could've sworn I heard you just say that you have _nothing left_!"

I paused a moment to see if he had anything to say about that. He didn't. That made me want to cry and tear myself to pieces.

"Maybe you forgot about your _other_ best friend. You know, the one you conveniently ABANDONED?!"

"I didn't ever forget about you!" Axel shouted unconvincingly.

"Oh, you're right. You just refused to listen to her reasoning which was--dare I say it--_CORRECT_!"

"What are you saying?! You didn't know you were right when you originally said that!"

It was becoming an all-out screaming match. I wasn't really worried about anyone waking up. I knew for a fact Goofy slept through _everything_, and Donald put himself under a spell each night for continuous sleep. Sora...well, he wasn't himself, you might say. So there was absolutely nothing stopping us. I wished there was.

"I KNOW NOW, DON'T I?!"

"IT'S _TOO LATE_ NOW!"

"NO, IT'S _NOT_! It might be for saving _Roxas_, but not for _us_!"

"WHY SHOULD I EVEN _CARE_ ABOUT _YOU_ ANYMORE?!"

If I had been a person of less self-restraint, I would've shot him right then and there, and then myself. Instead all I could manage to do was release the safety catch on my gun. The click caught his attention.

"Is that what you really think?" I asked, my voice halfway to a whisper. I was feeling so dizzy with hatred and agony that it was a wonder I was even standing upright. "Well, I'm sorry I can't be a stupid, emotionless Nobody like you. But I can't help being a freak, okay?"

"_Nexus_." Axel gave me a stern look.

"What? Am I taking too long? You really wanna get rid of me, don't you, so you can carry on down your merry way? Well, okay, I guess I'll see you on the other side."

As my finger started to pull the trigger, I closed my eyes tightly. I didn't want to see his face when I died.

The next moment was weird. I pulled the trigger, and I heard the shot fire, but I didn't feel anything. Nothing except a strange weight on my shoulders. But I knew I had to have shot myself, because I dropped my gun, and I fell, my body slamming into the floor. I didn't know death would be like that.

But it wasn't death. Somehow I had survived the miracle bullet.

Flinching slightly at the pain now throbbing through my entire body from hitting the floor, I opened my eyes slowly.

Axel looked PISSED.

I wanted to say so many things, some of them nicer than other, but the only thing I could manage to spit out was, "Give me my gun." I could see it lying on the floor nearby, smoking still. The shot had hit the ceiling. Axel must've stopped it.

"No," he growled through clenched teeth. "I ought to smash that damn thing." He was pinning me down by my wrists, and although I was _beyond_ mad, I would _definitely_ be lying if I said I didn't like it just a little.

"Don't you _dare_," I said weakly, my anger subsiding and my embarrassment growing.

I struggled to free myself, but his hands only clenched my wrists tighter, making me blush. There was only one way of escape without injuring him or me.

Draning my nose and throat, I spit right in Axel's face, hitting him square between the eyes. He immediately released me to wipe off his face. I took the opportunity to jump up and start running toward my bedroom--don't know what I would've done after that--when his hand grabbed my waist. I curse my life for being ticklish.

"Let me GO!" I screamed, near tears.

"No way," he said, pulling me toward him and grabbing my wrists again.

"DON'T MAKE ME SPIT ON YOU AGAIN!"

I dropped to my knees, squirming for freedom, then I got a much better idea that would actually work.

Using all the strength I had, I flipped Axel over and the second he let go of me to catch himself, I jumped on top of him, pinning him with his arms at his sides.

"Hah! How 'bout a taste of your own damn medicine!?" I shouted in his face.

It was really quiet after that. Axel just looked at me for a moment, then suddenly, he started laughing. Then I started laughing. And soon we were just sitting there, laughing. As if nothing had happened. At all.

I have found it's really hard to stay mad at someone you truly love.

A few minutes later, I finally stopped laughing long enough to say something to Axel.

"Friends?" I asked, holding out a hand.

"Get off of me first," he said, still laughing.

"Oh, yeah."

*~*~*

When they were finally back on their feet again, Axel and Nexus looked at each other, still grinning in silent laughter.

"I'm sorry," he said, hugging her tightly.

"Me, too," she admitted, hugging him back. She wanted to pause that moment in time, but reality settled in. He would have to leave soon.

"You can go get your gun," Axel said suddenly, pushing her back. "I won't stop you from taking it." She eyed him suspiciously. "Unless I really need to again."

Smiling, she nodded and trotted over to her gun, bending down to pick it up.

As she stooped over her gun, checking to make sure nothing was damaged, Nexus was unaware of Axel watching her closely. Truth be told, he had never really _looked_ at her before until tonight, when he could see all of her moonlit face and both of her turquoise eyes. And he had never noticed, but she was incredibly pretty. Though her face was childish and dainty, her body was that of a woman, curved in all of the right places. Some places more than others, Axel realized as Nexus stood back up.

Feeling his gaze upon her, Nexus glanced at him and raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she mumbled, her cheeks turning a darker shade of pink.

"Nothing," Axel mumbled back, trying not to stare as she walked back to him. _Has she always walked like that? With her hips?_

"Well, whatever. It's not broken," Nexus told him, holding out her gun. "Good thing. I would have to kill you." With a wink, she bent over and unfastened the leather holster around her thigh. "Hold this please."

Nexus set the gun in Axel's hands, expecting him to look at it. But he couldn't stop watching her.

"You..."

Nexus lifted her head up, crouched over in front of Axel. He blushed a little.

_Since when has she had _those_?_ he wondered as she straightened up again.

"Yes?" she asked, staring at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head.

"You said 'yes,' but you shook your head 'no.'" She laughed. "Which one is it?"

He laughed, too. "I really don't know. I'm too tired to care."

Nexus nodded, glancing at the clock. It was already almost three.

"I know you have to go," she then murmured, looking up at him. He nodded once, looking sad.

"I promise, I'll come back for you--"

"No," she interrupted him quietly. "Don't promise anything. If you're looking for something to give you purpose, why don't you stop trying to save Roxas and start trying to save yourself?"

He paused, then replied, "Right back at ya."

She smiled, embracing him tightly, breathing in his scent, filling her lungs until she thought they might burst. Axel did the same. They regretted nothing.

Nexus' PoV

Before he left, before I let go of him maybe for the last time ever, I considered asking him about how he died. After all, Roxas had told me it was worth knowing, and I had always been pretty curious myself. But I was drained, and I didn't want anything emotional to happen for the next few hours. And what if he had said no? That would've just been an awkward goodbye. And I really didn't want that.

"Bye," I said, biting my bottom lip in order to keep myself from crying.

"See you again," Axel said, smiling sadly, as if he wasn't sure of his own words. I closed my eyes, trembling.

I felt his hand gently touch my cheek, then softly push my bangs behind my right ear. Opening my eyes, he was still smiling, and it felt different somehow, though not bad.

"I don't care what you say," he said with a smirk. "I'll see you again. I promise."

The second he disappeared into his portal, I burst into tears.

"How can you say that?!" I shouted after him as the black smoke faded. "I'm dying. I'm dying!"

Dropping my gun and holster on the ground, I followed it, collapsing in a heap on the carpet. I just let it all go. At that point, I didn't care who found me like that, or if they asked questions. I just needed to cry and let out all of my feelings before I did something extremely regrettable.

Even after I cried, though, I still felt empty, and I dragged myself to bed still feeling that way. I was scared that I would kill myself. My sanity had been tried too much in such a short period of time that I felt like I would just break down and shoot myself, for real this time.

So I unloaded my gun and rolled all of my bullets under Sora's bunk, and I put my gun on the far side of my bed, underneath the mattress. I would have really had to have struggled to kill myself under that much trouble at that time at night.

I didn't know if I would wake up in the morning or not, but I hoped I would. I hoped Axel could keep his promise, and that I would see him again...soon. I hoped, and that's all I had ever done before.

I hoped hoping would work.


	25. Chapter 25: Ladies' Night

Chapter 25: Ladies' Night (www . youtube . com/watch?v=qKuXPakcNiw)

Memo: Well, this is the calm chapter. Get ready for some sheer awesomeness ahead. Prepare yourself. :D Consider this chapter the comic relief portion...the last one you'll ever get in this story. Everything after this is intense and emotional, so I'm warning you now. Not that there won't be funny stuff later, lol. XP

*~*~*

"Nexus, come on," Sora pleaded for the fifth time. Nexus groaned.

"Five more minutes," she replied, her voice muffled due to her pillow being shoved in her face.

"I already gave you fifteen more minutes. Now get up."

Sighing heavily, Nexus turned over, her hair tangling in her face.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her eyes half shut.

"Hollow Bastion," Sora responded, standing up straight.

"Oh boy. Hollow Bastard, my faaaaavorite place."

Sora shot her a "WTF?" look.

"Did you seriously just call it 'Hollow Bastard'?" he asked, laughing.

"Maybe."

Stretching like a cat, Nexus started to get up, but instead flopped back into bed, shutting her eyes and covering her head with her pillow. Sora sighed, frustrated.

"Don't make me rip the covers off of you again," he threatened.

Bolting upright, Nexus nearly smacked the back of her head on the bottom of Donald's bunk above her.

_Well, _that_ worked_, Sora thought, smirking and walking away.

.........

Looking around the marketplace area of Hollow Bastion, Sora and the others were surprised to see Heartless running amock.

"Wait a sec...I thought everything was supposed to be under control here!" Sora cried as the Heartless disappeared.

"Hey, look!" Donald shouted, pointing at the town's defense system. It was running as usual...but something about it was different. Instead of blue, it was red.

"Must be Organization XIII again," Sora decided. "We better go see Leon."

So the four quickly headed out to Merlin's house, knowing that would be the first place to find any of the Restoration Committee members. But when they got there, they were surprised once again to see Heartless. This time, though, they were not the usual species found in Hollow Bastion.

"Those were Tron's Heartless," Sora said quietly, his keyblade vanishing after they defeated the lot.

"Tron has Heartless?" Nexus asked.

"No, I mean, from that world."

"But why would they be here?" Nexus shook her head. "I don't think the Organization had anything to do with this one, Sora."

"Maybe you're right..."

Suddenly the door to Merlin's house cracked open, and Yuffie poked her head out of the door.

"Come on in!" she said, walking outside once she knew the coast was clear.

"Wait just a second..." Sora told her. "What happened to this place?"

"Didn't that Heartless look like the ones from Tron's world?" Goofy asked her.

"C'mon, just get inside!" Yuffie urged them, disappearing behind the door again.

Exchanging frustrated looks, the party walked in behind her to find Cid and Merlin there...but no Leon or Aerith.

Nexus' PoV

"Hurry up, Cid!" Yuffie snapped at Cid, who was typing on a big, old-fashioned computer. Data was flying in front of his face at a million miles per minute.

"Give me a second!" Cid snapped back.

"Confound it! Hurry!" Merlin cried.

"Why, you...!" Cid growled at the wizard, obviously at the end of his rope.

"What's going on?" Sora finally asked, and the three whipped around to look at him.

"Talk about yer good timin'!" Cid exclaimed, neglecting the computer for a moment. The others didn't really seem to care too much.

"The MCP is wreaking havoc inside the computer," Yuffie said.

"Not again!" Donald quacked. I shrugged. Less work for me, am I right? (;3)

"Accordin' to Leon, anyway..." Cid explained. "He went on over to Ansem's study to find out what all the ruckus was about. Turns out the MCP is using the data in that computer to crank out Heartless. The MCP's been messin' around with the town's control system, too."

Pouting, Yuffie turned to Cid and said, "That MCP sure doesn't know when to quit, does it?"

"That's a computer program for ya."

"How's Tron doing?" Sora asked.

"We can't reach him," Yuffie replied. "We figure he must have been forced onto the game grid."

Game grid? Sounded fun to me.

"And it don't sound like a particularly fun game, either," Cid added.

Donald frowned. "Awww..."

"We'll go check on Tron," Sora offered. I was okay with that, too. I mean, that meant I could take a break, and at that point, I really needed one...

"Thanks, kid. We're puttin' together an MCP Eradication program," Cid said, gesturing to the computer. "I got a hunch it's almost finished, too."

"Well, I hope your hunch is right for once!" Merlin exclaimed, causing Cid to give him a dirty look.

"Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when that Eradicator's completed..." Yuffie began hesitantly.

"Don't sweat it." Yuffie's face brightened at Sora's response. "We'll make sure to tell Tron!"

"Remember, boys--we're counting on you," Merling said as we walked outside.

"Roger!" Sora called back.

.........

We had just reached the postern when we saw more familiar faces. It looked like the three little fairy chicks were there, but they didn't look as happy to see us as usual. The brunette flew over, followed by the other two, in a rage.

"Liars!" she shouted.

"Wha--?" Sora stammered.

"Leon doesn't have any treasure!" the blonde chirped, flushing with anger.

"And we fought for you guys," the silver-haired fairy muttered, shaking her head.

"Donald...?" Goofy said, turning to the duck.

"Yeah, this is all your fault!" I snapped, turning to him as well.

"Well, I had to tell them something!" Donald cried.

"I don't see how we're gonna work this out," the brunette said, heaving a sigh of frustration.

"So what should we do?" Sora asked.

None of them answered; instead they turned to one another and began to chatter amongst themselves. I could only pick out bits and pieces of the conversation, but whatever the result was going to be wasn't going to be good for us.

Finally, the brunette turned around and pointed at us.

"We're just going to take YOUR treasure," she said with a gleam in her eyes, which I just then noticed were two different colors.

"But we don't have anything!" Sora cried, his voice cracking.

"You sure?" the silver-haired one asked, raising an eyebrow as the blonde one floated over to Sora, circling around him.

"Hmm...let's take a look!" she giggled, looking at me next. Well, I didn't feel too bad. All I had was ammo and my gun, and that was about it. "Mm-hmm..." She looked at Donald, who tapped his foot angrily. He had no reason to be mad; this was his fault. "Oooh!" she squealed as looked at Goofy. Then she hurried over to the brunette.

"Hey, Yunie," she said. "Yunie"? What kind of name is _that_? "I took a look, and sure enough..."

She whispered something into Yunie's ear, and then the brunette smiled.

"Okay, we've decided!" she exclaimed. "The Gullwings are taking all your items!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Sora cried, looking like he wanted to kill himself.

"Oh, foofie," Yunie said, putting her fists on her hips.

"This stinks!" the blonde added.

"So not cool..." Paine agreed.

"Look, sorry we tricked you, but..." Sora began, but the silver-haired fairy shook her head, smirking.

"Forget about it," she said. "Leon told us the whole story. He said your journey's been pretty rough."

"So it wouldn't really be right if we took your things," Yunie said.

"We'll root for you," the blonde assured us. "Here, this is from us."

"Bye!" Yunie said. "Good luck on your journey!"

The three little fairies posed and disappeared, leaving behind a treasure chest.

"Open it!" Donald urged him.

Inside was nothing but a keychain in the design of a wing. But when Sora picked it up, it turned into a keyblade.

"The Gullwings, huh?" I murmured. I had never heard of them before, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be the _last_ I'd hear of them.

*~*~*

Leon whipped himself around, gunblade in hand, when he heard a noise from behind him. The paranoia was starting to really get to him.

"Gawrsh, it's only us!" Goofy said, walking in. Leon slowly lowered his sword as Sora, Nexus, Donald, and Goofy walked in.

"You can't talk to Tron if this room gets taken over," Aerith told them, glancing at the computer nervously. She had been helping Leon the whole time.

"Did you check in with Cid?" Leon asked.

"Uh-huh," Sora replied, nodding once.

"And the Eradicator?"

"It's almost done," Donald said.

"Great!" Aerith exclaimed. She then turned to Leon, smiling. "Say, Leon, why don't you go work with Cid? I have this place under control."

"Are you sure?" Leon asked, not buying it. "All by yourself...?"

Aerith didn't reply with words, but with an expression so angry that Leon had no choice but to let her have her way.

"...Er, sorry," he mumbled. "It's all yours."

"How's Tron?" Sora asked.

"We still can't get in touch with him," Leon said with a sigh. "Maybe you guys should give it a shot."

"No, we'll go talk to him in person."

"Then I have a favor to ask. When you find Tron, could you tell him to come to the I/O tower? That's where we'll upload the MCP Eradication program."

"The I/O tower," Goofy repeated. "Got it!"

"Thanks. And watch your backs."

Leon walked out of the room as Sora approached the computer screen. There was a threatening message on the screen; apparently it had been there for some time.

"We'll be there soon, Tron," Sora murmured, turning on the terminal. Nexus, watching what he was doing, walked over to Aerith and smiled.

"Are you not going with them?" the brunette asked, surprised.

"Nope. I didn't go the first time, so I'd rather not meddle if I don't need to," Nexus replied, watching as Sora and the others disappeared.

"I understand."

Aerith walked over to the computer and leaned against the counter. Nexus went to the opposite side of the screen and climbed onto the counter, her legs dangling off the side.

"So what do we do now?" Nexus asked, sighing.

"We have to wait for someone to come back with the eradication program," Aerith replied, also sighing. "But who knows how long that will take."

"When we stopped by, they were almost done with it."

"Really?"

"Yup!"

"That's good." Aerith smiled.

Nexus' PoV

It was just me and Aerith for a while until Leon finally came back with the program. He messed with the computer for a few minutes, but it just kept repeating back the same message.

"Warning. User control is terminated indefinitely," it said for the fourteenth time. I was counting.

"No good!" Leon growled, pounding his fists on the keyboard.

"Leon, let me try," Aerith offered. Again, Leon gave her the hesitant look--couldn't really blame him--but he handed her the disk, and she nodded.

"This is your final warning. Stop at once."

Aerith ignored the computer and stuck the disk into the disk drive.

"Bon appetit!" she said with a smirk as the hard drive began to load the program. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"What...what are you loading?" the computer asked. Aerith silently cheered as Leon crossed his arms in disbelief.

"Leeeeeee-oooooooooooon!"

That cat howl could've only come from one person.

Yuffie came stomping into the room, scowling.

"Leon, go take care of Cid and Merlin, pleeease!?" she cried, her face contorted. "They've been fighting about NOTHING, and it's soooo annoying! They won't stop! They won't listen to me!"

"Wonder why," Leon muttered sarcastically. Yuffie heard him.

"Shut up, _Squall_," she snapped, punching Leon in the gut. "Just go take care of them. I'll take your place here."

Leon/Squall looked at the three of us suspiciously. He obviously didn't like the idea of leaving three girls in charge. Did he think we would get distracted? He wasn't far off the mark.

"Fine," he said at last, leaving. Sighing, Yuffie plopped down in a swiveling chair and scooted herself over to us.

"It doesn't help I ran into my faaaavorite people on the way here, if you can call them that," Yuffie whined.

"Who?" Aerith asked.

"The Gullwings, who else?! They're worthless! All they do is cause trouble and make me mad!" Yuffie scowled again. "Especially Rikku."

"You know their names?" I asked, cocking my head.

"Yeah. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Paine is the only one I can stand. She can actually do stuff. The other two just annoy me!"

"They helped us out earlier," I said, pulling my legs up under me so I was sitting cross-legged. "But they managed to cause trouble before they did."

"See what I mean!?" Yuffie cried, falling back into the chair. She groaned, her high-pitched voice muffled by her hand. Suddenly I thought of something. Maybe these two knew...

"Hey, have you heard of someone named E?" I asked.

"E?" Aerith and Yuffie said in unison.

"Yeah. I mean, that's just her nickname, but I don't know her real name."

"Who is she?" Aerith said. "I've never heard of her."

"Apparently she's Riku's girlfriend. She reminds me of Yuffie...at least, the way she talks. But I've never seen her face." I pouted. "She was wearing an Organization cloak at the time, like Riku."

"Riku..." Yuffie muttered. She stood up quickly, nearly falling over. "He is number one on my list of people I'm gonna whoop when I see them again! All he does is make people worry! Ooo, I'm gonna kick his ass if and when I see him again!"

Aerith and I laughed, but Yuffie interrupted.

"Aerith, Cloud is number two!" Aerith's face fell.

"I can't help but agree," she said quietly.

"All he wants to do is make us worry. Then he says he'll come back, and maybe he will, or maybe he'll avoid us for another few months!" Yuffie cried, falling back into her chair. "Next time he comes back, you two need to get married so he'll have to settle down."

Aerith blushed. "I don't even know if that's what he wants," she murmured.

"Who cares?! He's gotten his way for years! Lay down the law, sister!"

"I concur," I said. "If he really loves you, he'll listen to you."

"Yeah! And then you guys need to have a kid, so he has to stay home!" Yuffie giggled as Aerith blushed again. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!" she sang, clapping her hands in delight. "Then he'll have to stay with you."

"She does this to me all the time," Aerith whispered as Yuffie chattered on.

"Isn't there anyone _she_ likes?" I asked. "You could throw that back in her face."

Aerith thought for a moment, then smirked.

"Yuffie, I'll tell Cloud everything you told me if you admit to Leon that you adore him," Aerith said, finally baring her fangs. Yuffie nearly turned purple.

"Th-that's not even fair!" she cried, standing up again. "He _has_ someone else. And there's nothing I can do about it." Defeated, she sat back down, then glanced at me. "You haven't talked yet. Who's your fella? I know you have one. I know it."

"You don't know that," Aerith and I said in unison. Yuffie grinned.

"No," she admitted, "but I wanna know."

"Well, for the record, I do love someone," I said, sighing. "But it doesn't matter, because it's literally impossible for him to love me back." They didn't look like they were catching on at all. " I mean, he's a Nobody."

"Ah! Really?" Yuffie cried, shocked. "That's so sad!"

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"Surely there's some way," Aerith said, and I shook my head.

"Things don't look too great the way they are now. I don't think there's any chance."

It was quiet, and I laughed to clear the air.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so serious!"

"It's okay!" Yuffie said, grinning again.

I smiled back, then suddenly my eye caught the door on the opposite wall. It was open. I don't know how it happened, but it was. Not too far past that door was a hovercraft, and then...well, a place I didn't really feel like messing with at the moment.

"You really should have kids, Aeri," Yuffie was saying when I snapped out of it. "You'd be a fabulous mommy!"

Aerith didn't look convinced.

"Yeah, and then Yuffie and I could babysit them!" I cried.

"Yeah!" Yuffie cheered, scooting her chair over to me and giving me a hi-five.

"See, I think _you_ would be a good mother," Aerith said, nodding at me. I blushed.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Because you're super loyal!" Yuffie answered for her. "And protective, but not overly protective. Like...you value individual freedom, which is good because then you won't be clingy to kids like my mom was!" Yuffie shuddered. "Glad I'm rid of her!"

"Was that how your mother was?" Aerith asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't remember. I didn't grow up with my parents," I replied. "I haven't seen them since I was six."

"Wha?!" Yuffie squealed. "Then who raised you?"

"Ansem the Wise," I said after hesitating. They both looked skeptical, and I couldn't blame them. "No, I'm serious. I was raised in this very building. Past that door, mostly," I added, nodding to the open door on the side of the room.

"Ooo!" Yuffie stood up, kicking the chair to the far wall. "We should go check it out!"

I cringed, wishing I had lied.

"I don't know if the way back there is still open," I told her. She shrugged, pulling me off of the counter.

"Who cares? We should at least _try_."

"It _would_ be nice to see more of Ansem's things," Aerith agreed. "It might help us figure things out for later."

"That's what _I'm_ thinkin'!" Yuffie cheered.

I paused, staring at the door. At some point or another, I knew I would have to face my past. I would just have to press on and not be afraid. Now I was at that point, and I knew I had to just let my fear go.

"Okay, let's go," I finally said, leading the way through the door. "But if I say I want to leave, we're leaving."

"Agreed!" Yuffie cried, skipping after me.

"Thanks," Aerith said.

_Yeah, you won't be thinking that later,_ I thought, sighing.


	26. Chapter 26: Ourselves

Chapter 26: Ourselves (www . youtube . com/watch?v=_hvjjA4RN-U) --This will set the mood!! :D

Memo: UWAAAAAAAA~! I'm so pumped for this chapter. I've been waiting a long time to finally write this. It's an amazing scene in my head, so I'll do my best to put the pictures into words for ya! You know what helped? The end of the fifth Harry Potter movie! YEAH! XD

Nexus' PoV

The second the three of us walked through that door, I felt more at ease, for some reason. I think maybe it was because I knew I wasn't going alone. There would be other people with me, and I could handle that.

Tifa was pacing around down on the platform, muttering to herself.

"Tifa!" Aerith and Yuffie cried, running over to her. I followed them at a slower pace.

"Hey, you guys," she said, her face doing a one-eighty. "What's up?"

"We're going exploring!" Yuffie cheered, bouncing on her tiptoes. Yeah, her enthusiasm and little kid voice definitely reminded me of E.

"Oh? Well, be careful." Tifa nodded toward the machine. "Who knows when that thing will start pumping out more Heartless."

"Don't worry," I said, stepping in. "I think we can handle a few Heartless. Besides, we're going under the machine."

"_Under_?" Aerith asked, following me as I walked over to the edge of the platform. "But how? It must go down for miles."

"Exactly."

Staring out in front of me, I lined up my right hand just how I remembered, and sure enough, a glowing, translucent panel popped up in front of me. If this worked still, that meant the hovercraft did, too.

Immediately after I punched in the code, the vehicle floated up to greet us. It was covered with cobwebs and dust.

"This hasn't been used in a while, has it?" Yuffie said, wrinkling her nose in disgust as I cleared the keyboard of gunk.

"Nope. Consider yourself priveleged."

Yuffie grinned at me, then Aerith.

Kicking open the little door, which had been stuck in place for years, I ushered the two on board and waved goodbye to Tifa.

"Hang on," I told them. "It goes pretty fast."

"'Kay," they answered in unison.

I pressed the code into the control pad, and we took off, shooting straight down, then straight forward into the looming darkness.

"I wanna drive this back!" Yuffie cried, laughing.

"Okay, you need to know the code," I said, grinning even though it was too dark to see anything but the glowing control pad. "It's 'S-U-N-E.' Got it memorized?"

Hah, I couldn't resist.

"That's a name, isn't it?" Aerith said. "I've seen that somewhere before."

"Because that's me," I said as the craft slowed down some. We drove through a dimly lit hallway that I recognized, and I knew the stop would be soon. "Sune is me."

"But I thought your name was Nexus!" Yuffie said.

"It is." I could feel their confused looks, and I sighed. "Look, it's complicated. I'll explain later."

Suddenly we slowed down more, and I saw a closed door approaching on our left. I sighed.

"See that door?" I said, pointing. "That's where this mess began with the Organization. That's where they lost their hearts."

The door looked like it was rotting, and there was a faint stench coming from it.

"We should check it out!" Yuffie said, holding her nose.

"Not without lots of protective equipment, we're not!" I exclaimed. "Who _knows_ what's left in there?"

.........

We finally reached the other hovercraft port a minute after seeing the ill-fated room. Everything looked the same, untouched, like when I last saw it over three years ago. Things were falling apart, glass all over the place. Everything looked like when that day happened...like it was then...in ruins.

The only door that was decent looking was the one we were looking for: the door to my old room.

"Alright, let's go," I said, opening the door with another code. It zoomed open, and I felt good about it. I knew it would stay open until I told it to, so we weren't going to get trapped in here or anything like some horror movie.

In fact, everything was going pretty smoothly. I was happy about that...

"I sense a dark aura in this place," Aerith said when she walked in.

"Really?" I asked, looking at one of the counters. "Can't say I'm too surprised."

"Aw, look!" Yuffie exclaimed, holding up a picture. "Is this you?"

"Yeah," I replied, grinning. She had found a picture of me and Ansem from when I was first brought to him.

"And look! These are your parents."

I hurried over, snatching the picture out of her hands. Yes...they were my parents. My mother was beautiful and young, and my father looked proud and brave, and also young. They were too young to understand any of it, as was I.

"Your mother is lovely," Aerith said, smiling.

"You look like her," Yuffie added, looking me over.

"Do I?" I wondered out loud. It would've been nice to see her then, too.

There were so many things I wanted to look at while I was there. My eyes searched the room for nothing in particular. I knew what I was trying to avoid, and that was obvious: there was a giant glass tube in the very center of the room. Aerith and Yuffie didn't ask about, and I was thankful; how was I going to tell them that tube used to be my bed? Where I was once someone else...but still me.

My fingers traced the objects left lying on the counter, things from my childhood. Some things I wanted to remember more than others. I came across another picture, though it wasn't of me. It was one of Ansem's favorite pictures, of a festival in the summertime that this world had for children. I only went once, and I remember it being amazing.

Anyway, I looked through the huge crowd, looking for anybody I might recognize, like Leon or Aerith. They were close enough to my age.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Yuffie asked, trotting over to me. Aerith followed her.

"Oh, a picture of that children's festival they have every year here," I replied, showing her. "This picture was taken when I was six, judging by the date on the back. I was looking for one of you guys."

"I went that year," Aerith said, smiling.

"Yeah, that was right before our world was destroyed," Yuffie said, both of their smiles fading.

"Maybe I can find you," I said, grinning.

I couldn't find her because suddenly my gaze was attracted by a little red-headed boy with who I assumed to be his little sister.

"...?" I squinted, trying to make out the details of his face. "...?"

_It couldn't be him_, I decided, handing Yuffie the picture so she and Aerith could look at it. _I don't even know what his somebody looked like. I'm just desperate._

I slowly walked to the other side of the room, eyes fixed straight ahead, when suddenly something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Someone was by me, and I couldn't tell who.

Hesitantly, I turned my head to the side to find myself looking at the glass tube and my reflection. Two amber eyes gazed back.

Everything happened all at once. My breath caught, I fell to my knees, and the glass tube exploded, glass shards flying everywhere, most of them hitting me.

"Nexus!?" I heard Yuffie shout, her voice sounding so distant. I couldn't answer her. I could barely even move. My whole body was stretched across the floor, and every inch of me hurt with a pain I can't even describe.

"Nexus, what's wrong?" Aerith cried. I couldn't answer her. When I tried to, my body let loose this inhuman scream, a sound I don't think any human could ever imitate. But it hurt so much...

Still screaming, I tossed my head to one side involuntarily, and I saw my eyes. They were gold.

It was happening. She was coming back. I was dying.

"Nexus!"

Somehow I heard them shouting my name while I was screaming. It felt like my body was trying to turn itself inside-out with no remorse.

_Leave me alone!_ I shouted, unable to speak.

"No," Sune said firmly. "I won't."

I had no idea what to do.

_Axel_...

I felt like I was dying. I _was_ dying. That was it.

_Somebody! Please kill me!_

I could feel tears flooding my cheeks as I reached for a piece of glass. I cut my hand trying to grab it, and the pain only got worse.

*~*~*

Aerith and Yuffie stared in horror at Nexus, who was writhing on the ground and screaming at the top of her lungs. Parts of her arms were cut, and she was bleeding onto the floor, which was soaked in water from the tube. Her clothes were torn in places, too.

"Aeri, you've got to go get Sora," Yuffie said at least, her voice cracking. "I'll stay with her. You need to bring him here!"

"Okay," Aerith said, shaking as Nexus wailed even louder. She sounded possessed.

Dashing out of the room, Aerith sprinted over to the hovercraft and punched in the code Nexus had told them.

"S-U-N-E," she said out loud as the entered the code, and the hovercraft took off into the darkness.

By herself, Aerith began to cry. She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was probably wouldn't end well. She only hoped Sora could do something about it.

When the hovercraft finally got to the surface, Aerith jumped off before it had completely stopped and sprinted into the computer room just in time to catch Sora returning.

"Hey!" he said cheerfully, but Aerith didn't reply. Instead she grabbed his arm and dragged him with her. "Hey, what's going on!? Are you alright? Where's Nexus?"

Aerith didn't answer him until they were riding back on the hovercraft.

"I hear something," Sora said, peering into the darkness. "It sounds like something screaming..."

"...Something is really wrong," Aerith said, a sob interrupting her, "with Nexus."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't know. We were in her old room, and suddenly, she just fell and..." Aerith inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Well...you'll see."

Sora shuddered; he did NOT like the sound of that.

They finally reached the other dock again, and Sora jumped off, running into the room.

He was a little overwhelmed at first. There were so many things to see. Yuffie was standing there, obviously shocked, staring at Nexus, who was writhing on the floor. She was also the source of the terrifying noise.

"Nexus!" Sora cried, dropping to his knees next to her. She got quiet for a moment, then she looked at him with scared, tear-filled turquoise eyes. Her eyes flashed gold, and she screamed again, her whole face contorting in wild pain. Sora sat back on his heels, shocked. What was going on?

"Her eyes," he said to Aerith and Yuffie. They didn't seem to know what he was talking about, so he turned back to Nexus.

"_Sora..."_

Sora looked down at Nexus, who was gazing up at him, trembling. There was a giant cut on her face, which he assumed was from the glass around her.

"...Sora..."

"Yeah, it's me," he said softly.

"..." She cringed, her eyes changing colors again. "_Kill me_!" she shouted, her voice warped. He could've sworn he heard two different voices when she spoke.

"What?" Sora gasped.

"_Kill me_! _Please_! I--"

Her fingers curling tightly into fists, Nexus let out another ghostly scream. Sora watched, helpless.

"_I'm dying_! _Please_! _Kill me_!" she screamed, her hand reaching out for another piece of glass.

"No!" Sora shouted, jumping up and kicking it out of her reach.

"_KILL ME_!" she shrieked, clawing at her own throat, as if something inside of her was trying to tear her apart.

"No!" he shouted again. "I won't kill you, Nexus!"

"_PLEASE KILL ME_!" She began to sob hysterically. "_I'M DYING_! _PLEASE_!" Her whole body was shaking. "_Please kill me_! _Please_! Please..."

"No, Nexus, I won't kill you," Sora said quietly, kneeling back down to her level again. Hesitating, he reached out and stroked her hair gently. "I won't kill you."

"_Please kill me_," she whispered, looking up at him. Tears rolled from her eyes, which were gold again. But, to Sora's astonishment, they flickered, then slowly faded back into turquoise. "I'm dying. _Please_."

"No, Nexus," he repeated, taking his hand away. "I am not going to kill you."

She stared at him with a blank expression, her eyes distant. Suddenly she tensed up, grabbing at her heart, sucking in air and staying quiet for a while. Then, after a few seconds, she collapsed onto the floor, eyes still open, looking ahead lifelessly then rolling back into her head.

"She's--she's!!" Yuffie cried, covering her mouth.

"No, she's not dead," Sora said sternly.

A moment later, Nexus' eyes came into focus, and her entire body throbbed with pain. She couldn't move, and she could barely breathe.

"Nexus," Sora said cautiously. "Blink if you can hear me." She blinked slowly. "Thank god."

She wanted to smile, but she couldn't. Her muscles were twitching like crazy from all the stress the struggle had just put on her. She couldn't keep her eyes focused in just one spot for too long.

"Blink once if you can move." She didn't blink. "Blink once if you can't move anything." She blinked. Sora sighed. "Do you think it would help if I cured you? Blink once for yes, twice for no." She blinked twice, and Sora sighed again. "At least you're alright now. I need to get you out of here." He stood up. "This is going to hurt, I'm sorry."

As gently as he could manage, Sora picked Nexus up in his arms. She was still shaking all over, and she couldn't even manage to cry out in pain. She had nearly just died. Sune had nearly won. So what did that mean for next time?

"Is she going to be okay?" Aerith asked once she got her voice back.

"I think so," Sora said, walking out of the room. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer. She needs to get back."

"We understand."

Sora nodded in thanks, then the four boarded the hovercraft in silence.

.........

Roxas held his head in his hands. He had had about enough of Nexus' screaming for one day. No matter what he tried to say to her, she wouldn't hear him, only screamed. She sounded like she was in an incredible amount of pain.

"Dammit," he sighed, looking over at Sora. "Guess you're going to have to do something about this."

Roxas stood up and forced himself to be absorbed by Sora's body.

Sora awoke with a start upon hearing Nexus' screams.

"Nexus! Nexus!" he shouted, shaking her hard. "Wake up! You're dreaming!"

Panting, Nexus opened her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked up at Sora, then sat upright quickly, terrified.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked her. She didn't answer. "Calm down, it was only a dream."

"No, I..." she began, but her voice betrayed her, and she stopped.

"What? What happened?"

"No, it's nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head. "I can't sleep."

She laid back down, sighing through her nose.

"I'll be okay," she told Sora, squeezing her eyes shut.

But the amber eyes she saw startled her again, and so she kept her eyes open for the rest of the night.


	27. Chapter 27: Kicking away the night air

Chapter 27: Kicking away the night air (www . youtube . com/watch?v=k4dZZt1JSf4)

Memo: WAAAH!! XD I...I don't even know what to say. This is...the beginning of the end, that much I can say. If you haven't heard it already, you really should check out the song "night air" by Teddy Geiger. It's incredible. :3

Nexus' PoV

"Good morning," I murmured as Sora opened his eyes at last. He looked fairly well-rested, or at least a lot more well-rested than me. "Where are we going today?"

"Twilight Town," he said through a yawn. He propped himself up, then sat upright, stretching his legs. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," I replied, not wanting him to worry. Truthfully, I probably only got two hours of sleep at the most. "Don't worry about me."

"How can you say that?" Sora said, frowning. "Yesterday I thought you were going to die."

"I was going to die," I said.

"But...I don't understand." He looked at me, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "Who are you? _What_ are you?"

"...I don't really know, either." I sighed, sitting cross-legged on my bed. "I just know...I'm not supposed to exist. There's another me. Like a Nobody, but not as independent. She and I can't be in existence at the same time. At some point, quite a few years ago, she and I switched--I mean, I was around and she wasn't. But yesterday, she tried to come back. She means to kill me."

"So...your other self was trying to kill herself?" Sora asked, looking even more confused.

"Yeah, that's the best way I can explain it," I replied, smirking. "If she can't exist, she doesn't want me around, either."

"I see."

"Don't act like you understand," I said with a laugh. "You're totally confused, I can tell."

Sora grinned sheepishly.

"I'll understand one day, maybe," he said, standing.

"I'll bet on that."

.........

_Somehow, today seems really final,_ I thought, looking up at the ceiling of the train station. _I mean, two Twilight Towns? And the World That Never Was finally showed up on our map. This is going to be dangerous..._

"Hey! I think we're almost there!" Goofy exclaimed cheerfully, causing the rest of us to stare at him.

"Huh?" Sora said.

"What?" Donald said.

"Gawrsh, aren't we here because of the picture?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, that's right," I mumbled as he pulled out the photo. "You told me about this."

"Look, I'll show ya!" he said, holding it out in front of us.

"Yeah! Goofy's right!" Donald exclaimed after glancing at the picture.

"C'mon, let's go find this mansion!" Goofy cried.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed, beaming.

_He has no idea about Roxas,_ I thought, wanting to laugh. Pity.

*~*~*

Sora and the others dashed off through Twilight Town, each of them trying to remember the way back into the woods. Eventually they found the hole in the wall, and they passed through, not realizing that the most difficult part of their journey was just ahead.

When they finally got to the mansion, Sora was surprised to see three people lying outside of it. He recognized the first one to be Hayner, so he assumed Pence and Olette were the other two.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sora shouted, running to Hayner's side. Hayner began to push himself up, then stopped. "What happened?"

"We came here looking for Kairi," Hayner replied. "Then those white things attacked us..."

"You gotta be careful!" Donald told him as Goofy helped Pence and Nexus helped Olette.

"Yeah, you guys didn't have to go and do that," Sora told the blonde, who scowled.

"Of course we did," he muttered. "Kairi's our friend, too, ya know."

"You're right..." Sora murmured, helping Hayner up. "You know, I never thought of it like that before."

"Word is, this mansion gets a lot of really strange visitors," the blonde said, glancing at said mansion.

"We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of alternate Twilight Town," Olette added.

Nexus and Sora looked at each other in disbelief.

"What do you mean, alternate Twilight Town?" Sora gasped.

"Hey, Goofy, do you think we could see that crystal of yours?" Pence asked. Goofy nodded, pulling the munny pouch out of his pocket, and then the blue crystal out of the pouch.

"I made that pouch myself, and I still have it," Olette told them. "So there shouldn't be two of them here."

Hayner nodded, pulling out the Struggle Tournament Trophy. "And this is the trophy Seifer gave you. You left it behind, remember?"

"It's the only one of its kind," Pence explained. "Same for the crystals--red, blue, yellow, green--only one of each color. But you've got your own!"

"So...where'd you get it?" Hayner asked in a slightly accusatory tone. Sora frowned, thinking back.

"The pouch is from the King," Goofy finally answered. "When he gave us munny for the train ride, he gave us the crystal too."

"But then...where did the KING get it?" Pence asked, bewildered.

"See?" Hayner cried. "There's gotta be another town out there like this one. That would explain how the King got that pouch and the crystal. Everything makes sense."

Sora and his friends exchanged confused looks, not quite buying the idea.

"It...does?" Sora said slowly.

"That other town must be where whatever's missing from here went!" Pence exclaimed.

"Like Kairi," Olette agreed.

"I get it!" Sora exclaimed.

"Only because she mentioned Kairi," Nexus teased. Sora shot her a look, then suddenly a flash of white caught his attention. Dusks had just materialized before them. But before anyone could make a move, a blur of red, gold, silver, and black swooped down, cutting apart a few of the Dusks.

"The King!" Nexus cried. "How convenient."

"Watch out!" the King warned them. They nodded, preparing to battle alongside him once again.

.........

"I got somethin' to tell ya," the King said the moment after the Nobodies were vanquished. His keyblade disappeared in a hurry. "I found out where Ansem is--Ansem the Wise! The real Ansem! He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold."

"He would," Nexus muttered, sighing.

"And we've figured out where Kairi is!" Sora cried. "I'm pretty sure we're right."

"But why'd you all come here?" the King asked.

"Someone gave us a clue."

"Who?"

"Well, Your Majesty, Sora thinks it might been Riku," Goofy answered.

"It's just a feeling I had," Sora said, shrugging.

"Well, if that's what ya think, then it's probably right," the King said, smiling.

"You mean Riku's okay!" Sora exclaimed, grinning.

"If that's what ya think..."

Sora frowned deeply, crossing his arms.

"I've waited long enough, Your Majesty!" he snapped. "Tell me what you know!"

"It's not for me to say."

"But Your Majesty! Why?" Sora was getting desperate for the truth. He was so close...

"I don't wanna break my promise," the King replied.

"You made a promise to Riku!?" The King slapped his hands over his mouth as Sora cheered. "So he's okay! I can see him again!"

"Huh? Who's Riku?" Hayner asked.

"My best friend," Sora replied proudly. Nexus smiled, shaking her head slowly. It was a wonder Riku stayed friends with someone so dense.

"That's IT!" Pence cried.

"Your Majesty?" Olette said, crouching down to the King's level. "You got the pouch with the crystal from Riku, didn't you? And you promised not to tell, right?"

"Gosh, guys..." the King said, defeated.

"That's enough!" Donald quacked angrily, tired of people bugging the King.

"Yeah," Sora said, even though he was the main culprit. "Let's go!" He turned to face the mansion, a determined look on his face. "Kairi! Riku! We're on our way!"

Nexus' PoV

We entered the mansion's foyer, and I sighed. We started out here, and now we were ending here. Well, until we broke into the World That Never Was...

"There's gotta be a computer somewhere," the King said, looking around.

"A computer..." Pence echoed. "Do you think it's connected to that other Twilight Town?"

"It might be," His Majesty replied. "And there should be a way into the Realm of Darkness there." There, as in the alternate Twilight Town? Which made sense. After all, the other Twilight Town was where Roxas had been.

"Riku told you that, didn't he!?" Sora said, suddenly springing to life.

"Please, Sora. I made a promise." The King turned away.

"Aha! I knew it!" Sora said, crossing his arms in triumph. He was really starting to get annoying.

"Hey! Stop pestering the King!" Donald snapped, and Sora slumped, guilty as charged.

"Right. Sorry..."

"Let's split up," I suggested. "Your Majesty, will you go with me?"

"Sure, Nexus!" he said, smiling, relieved to be away from Sora. I was thinking the same thing.

We started our search in the parlor room, which was pretty much in shambles.

"Your Majesty, I know where the computer is," I admitted.

"I do, too. But Sora needs to find these things out for himself," he said.

"Yeah, like with Roxas."

"Exactly."

It was quiet for a minute, then I sighed.

"Your Majesty, something really terrible happened yesterday within me," I told him as I stared at the broken table. "My soul is being torn apart. I really don't know how much longer I'll be with Sora."

"Gosh, Nexus, you can't go down that easily, can you?" he asked with a small smile. I smiled back.

"I wish that was the case. But...I am my own worst enemy..."

.........

After talking a while longer, the King and I meandered to the computer room, bringing the others with us on the way.

"There!" the King exclaimed, pointing.

"We found it!" Sora cheered. I sighed. What a kid.

"How does it work?" Donald asked in wonder.

"I can handle it," Pence said, walking over to the computer like it was nothing. Huh, the kid was a nerd. Why was I surprised? There's one in every teenage clique.

Anyway, Pence sat down at the computer and began pushing buttons like it was his job.

"Okay..." he muttered, talking to himself. "Here we go..." A screen popped up. "Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Hayner asked quickly, worried.

Pence sighed. "I can't go any further without a password."

"Do ya have any idea what the password might be?" the King asked, looking at the four of us.

We all thought for a moment. I had no clue.

"Well, we only got this photo..." Goofy said, holding up the photo again, which was his latest obsession, apparently.

"And the salty-sweet ice cream bar!" Donald gasped.

"Yeah, the one Donald ate up," Sora said, nodding once.

"It was in the box right next to the photo," Goofy added.

"Hey, that's it!" the King exclaimed. "Ansem the Wise loved ice cream!"

"And it sounds like that was his favorite flavor," I said, nodding in agreement. "Sea-Salt ice cream."

"Okay, what's the name of the flavor again?"

"The name of the ice cream was..." Sora hesitated, looking at me. "...Sea-salt ice cream."

Pence typed it in; the silence was so ominous.

"It worked!" he cried as the screen disappeared. The machine to our right suddenly came to life, buzzing with a strange blue glow.

"Let's go!" Sora exclaimed, grinning at us.

"We'll be here to hold down the fort," Hayner told us, half-smiling.

"Say hi to Kairi!" Olette said cheerfully, smiling kindly.

"You bet!" Sora assured her, and the four of us and King Mickey walked into the machine's soft light...

*~*~*

"Are we back in the same place?" Sora wondered out loud as they stepped out of the machine. It was the same room and everything.

"Look!" Donald quacked, pointing at the computer. It was completely destroyed and would probably never work again. Ever.

"This is the other Twilight Town," Sora said quietly. "Roxas's Twilight Town."

A sudden image flashed in his head of a blonde teenage guy smashing the computer with a keyblade. He sighed.

"There's gotta be an entrance into the dark realm somewhere," the King said. "Let's split up again."

"Why? There's only one place we can go," Nexus said, pointing to the door on the far wall.

"Yeah, those stairs will just put us back where we were," Sora agreed, and for some reason, he knew he was right.

The five proceeded into the next room to find just another empty room with nothing unusual except a glowing, greenish-black portal in the corner.

"There..." Sora gasped.

"This is it," the King said darkly.

"Wait." Nexus grabbed Sora's arms just as he was about to go. "Wait. I just want to warn you." He stopped, and when she knew he was really listening, she let go of him. "We're about to go into the World That Never Was... It's really dangerous, and it will be especially so for you...because of me. Remember when I got kidnapped? They took me here, but I broke out. It wouldn't surprise me if they're looking for me."

Sora frowned, looking at the ground.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't go," she said quickly. "I'm just warning you. If they see me with you, they'll have a field day. Be careful."

"Don't worry," Sora said, smirking. "Whatever they throw at us, we can handle. Right?"

Nexus smiled, still worried. "Okay. Right."


	28. Chapter 28: Don't do anything stupid

Chapter 28: Don't do anything stupid. (www . youtube . com/watch?v=qDuHYBq8HIk)

Memo: UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~! UWAAA! UWAAA!! This is so sad! I can't believe I have made it this far! UWAAAAA!! TToTT Hah...I'm so happy and sad at the same time... Anyway, this is arguably the best chapter in the whole series. THE WHOLE SERIES, PEEPEL! XD I mean, it's not MY favorite, but I know for many it will be. :D

Nexus' PoV

I'm not really sure where that portal was supposed to lead us. I just know it was the last place I ever saw as a broken human.

"What is this place?" Sora asked, looking around. Everything glowed in a rainbow of colors, and I could make out the faint Nobody symbol floating around us.

"Well, which way should we go?" Donald said. Sora shook his head, running forward, deeper into the nothingness.

"Riku! Kairi!" he cried at the top of his lungs. I knew that wouldn't make them come, and I think he knew too, but he was getting desperate.

"Whoa!" I said when I felt something bump into me. I turned to see a Dusk standing there, looking right at me. "Oh, you wanna play? Well, FETCH!"

Pulling out my gun, I filled the sucker with bullets.

"Mind giving me a hand?" I called out to the others. I noticed King Mickey had disappeared. Huh. How convenient.

"It's no use!" Sora cried, blasting through Nobody after Nobody.

"They just keep coming," I agreed, having to use both weapons to even think about keeping their numbers under control.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!"

"I know that voice," I mouthed, turning around. A blur of scarlet and black appeared right in front of Sora, followed by two flaming wheels of death. Yup. Axel.

"Get goin'!" he shouted to us.

"Why?" Sora asked defensively, glancing sideways at me.

"Don't ask," Axel snapped. "Just do it!"

Just then a couple of Dusks pulled Axel to the ground from behind, then leapt over him. It would've been funny had it been anyone else there.

"You okay?" Sora asked after knocking the Nobodies away.

"I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me," Axel explained. "After that, Saix caught her. He's a member of Organization XIII. Saix. Got it memorized? Now go save her!"

Another Dusk flew down toward them, but Sora smacked it away, growling.

"Leave us alone!" he cried, standing upright.

"Are you actually willingly helping us?" I asked Axel as he stood up and walked over to me.

"Yeah, yeah." He smirked. "Seems like you need it."

"You're telling me. The King disappeared on us."

"The King was here?" I nodded. "Huh. He might already be there..."

Axel was quiet, then suddenly he took off without another word. I frowned. Such silence did not suit him.

.........

"Ouchies," I said, giggling as I tumbled backward into Axel and Sora. The three of us ended up back to back, with Donald and Goofy fighting elsewhere.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side," Axel said, obviously holding back laughter. I rolled my eyes. It was his own fault. Though I have to admit there was great irony in the fact that we were fighting Assassins, which he used to control.

"Feeling a little regret?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

"Nah...I can handle these punks." He let out a small laugh. "Watch this! Oh, and...Nex?"

I looked up at him, squinting.

"Don't do anything stupid."

What did he mean by that?

Axel smirked at me and ran off into the crowd of Nobodies. He held his chakrams out, then let them go. The three figures floated into the air, in a mass of flames, and soon the chakrams were spinning around him, creating an inferno. It was any pyro's dream to watch. Axel then let out a yell, and the whole area exploded.

"Ah!" I cried, shielding my eyes. I could feel my hair flying around me, and my clothes clung to the front of me due to the wind.

"Whoa!" I heard Sora shout. Blinking rapidly, I tried to get the hair out of my eyes so I could see the end result. "You're...fading away!"

My heart nearly stopped.

_NO_, I thought, clawing through my hair to clear my eyes. _Please, don't mean what I think you mean, Sora!_

But then I could see again, and I saw Axel lying on the ground. I could hear him talking to Sora about something.

He was fading.

"No," I breathed, running to his side. "This _can't_ be happening."

"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora was asking him when I plopped down on my knees, wide-eyed.

"I wanted to see Roxas," he replied. Tears came to my eyes. And he talked about ME being stupid!! He tried too hard...and now... "He...was one of the only people I ever liked. He made me feel...like I had heart." Axel turned his head, and his eyes fell on me. "It's kind of...funny. _You_ make me feel...the same..."

His voice died off. By this time I was crying like an idiot. Sora kept glancing over at me.

"Kairi's in the castle dungeon," Axel said to Sora. "Now go!"

Axel lifted his hand and opened a dark portal. It must've taken the last of his strength, because then he began to fade even faster. I couldn't take it. This was Axel...my partner, my best friend, and the person I loved most. I was _not_ going to just let him die. Not without a fight.

"NO!" I sobbed, throwing myself over Axel.

"Nexus!" Sora shouted, startled.

"Just go, Sora!" I commanded him. He hesitated. I could tell he wasn't buying the idea. But I wasn't leaving Axel behind. "_GO_!"

Sora took one last look at me, and his eyes were so sad, I can't even explain. Then he ran off into the portal, followed closely by Donald and Goofy.

"Nexus, what are you doing?!" Axel asked. I hugged him tighter.

"I won't let you die," I whispered.

"I _can't_ die..." Axel nodded at me. "...But you can."

Glancing at my arms, I noticed that now..._I_ was fading, too. There was this strange glowing red light around us, too. I couldn't explain it.

"We're partners... We'll go together," I said quietly. "Besides, you...you said we wouldn't fade away."

"Nex, why're you doing this?!" Axel asked me. "You could've lived!"

"You mean..." I let out a small laugh. "You _never_ figured it out?"

I was about to continue when my vision blacked. So...I was dying. For real this time. But Axel and I...were together.

"Axel...I love you," I managed to whisper with my last breath.

*~*~* THE END *~*~*

JUUUUUUST KIDDING!

*~*~*

Axel slowly opened his eyes, feeling...different.

_Whoa, wait._

He could see. He was alive.

And he could _feel_.

"What...?" he gasped, looking around. He was still in the between world. Thinking hard, he tried to piece together what had happened. Then it hit him.

Jumping to his feet, Axel looked around. A lifeless figure on the ground in the distance caught his eye.

"Nexus!?" he shouted, running over to her. She wasn't moving, not even breathing. "Nex, you idiot..."

Axel kneeled down next to her, pushing her hair out of her face. She didn't respond. He gently pulled her toward him. Holding her lifeless body in his arms, he let out a sigh, then an angry cry. Why _her_?!

"Nexus!" he shouted, shaking her. "Nexus? Nexus...Nex..." She was dead, he was sure of it now. "Dammit...why? Why did you leave me here?"

"I'm sorry."

Axel jumped, then looked down at Nexus. She didn't look any different.

"Nex?" he called out nervously.

"Nope."

"...Sune?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sune, tell me, what happened?"

Axel could hear Sune's voice as if it were coming from Nexus' body. He heard her sigh, but Nexus didn't move.

"She saved you, Axel," she replied. "_We_ saved you."

"Is she...dead?"

"No." Her blunt answer seemed short-tempered. "She'll be awake in a moment. Then we'll explain everything."

Axel nodded once, looking down at his dear friend. As he watched and waited, he thought of everything they'd been through together. They'd been separated and reunited multiple times, but something between them never changed. An unbreakable bond. What was after this, beyond their friendship? Because to Axel, that's where it felt like they should be.

"You said we wouldn't fade away..."

Her words echoed in his mind. He had let her down. That feeling hurt.

"...Axel?"

"Nexus!?" Axel said, looking down at her. She cringed, then her eyes fluttered open. "You okay?"

Nexus made brief eye contact with him, then quickly looked away. Her mouth was drawn into a frown.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

She didn't answer at first; instead she freed herself from his arms and pushed herself up, standing with her back to him. Hesitating, she held her right hand out to the side.

"Sune?" she said. To Axel's astonishment, Sune appeared beside Nexus, both of them facing away. They turned around, and it was looking at a mirror image. The only differences were the eyes, the hair, and the clothes, all of which were opposite colors.

"Hello, Axel," Sune said, smiling a little. Nexus didn't say anything, but she stared at the ground. Axel frowned at her.

"What's going on?" he asked, giving up on trying to get Nexus' attention. He looked at Sune, and her amber eyes glittered in a strange way.

Nexus' PoV

I could feel a sickness rising in me. This could only end badly. Sune and Axel could end up...

"We have to explain something," I finally said, my voice shaking, sounding foreign. "I really don't know how else to say this, so...well, here goes. Earlier today, we both died, Axel. But while you were fading, something weird happened to us." I gestured to Sune, and she seemed to think that gave her permission to interrupt.

"Maybe it was because--"

"Shut up, let me finish," I snapped. Sune glowered at me. Whatever. "Anyway, our heart..._my_ heart went to you."

"Huh?" Axel said, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "So now I have _your_ heart?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"But how?"

"I had only half of a heart to begin with."

"Half?"

"We share a heart, Axel," Sune said, nodding once. "I mean, me and Nexus do. We're the same person, after all. Well, we're supposed to be." She shot me a look, but I didn't respond, just stared at her blankly. "We each had half of our one heart, so now...well, we can't just split the other half."

"So..."

"You have to choose." Sune sounded pleased. I bet.

"For real? I...have to choose who stays and who dies?"

Axel looked at me to make sure she was being serious, and I nodded.

"Do it right," I told him. "Do what's best for _you_, not _us_."

"What do you mean by that?" Axel asked.

"Well, I _have _been around longer," Sune said, pursing her lips and glancing at me triumphantly. I squeezed my shut so I didn't have to see that awful expression. I knew I had to say these things, for his sake. It wasn't about me anymore.

"Listen to what I'm saying. Sune is right. I'm not supposed to even exist." I clenched my fists. "Though...it was fun being with you."

"Nex..." I heard footsteps.

"And even if I'm gone, Sune will remember. She'll remember our friendship for me. It's safer this way. Don't--!"

I was supposed to keep talking there, but I was interrupted by Axel's soft lips pressing into mine. I opened my eyes in disbelief. To be honest, I was beyond shocked. He really..._loved _me? _Me_?

He pulled back a moment, and then he smiled the most beautiful, gentle smile I've ever seen on a human.

"You stay," he said, nodding once and kissing me again.

WHHAAAA!!? TAKE THAT, BITCH! (XD) ---My brain at that point. Hah.

I could feel warm tears flowing from my eyes, completely unstoppable at this point, and they were mine. For the first time ever in my whole life, I felt whole, completed. Loved. I was finally free. I was _me_.

Again, take that, bitch. Nya.

When he pulled away the second time, my mind finally settled down enough to say something.

"Then you can read this," I said, pulling a notebook out of my back pocket.

"What?" Axel asked, taking it. "What is this?"

"My story." He gave me a confused look. "Literally and figuratively. It's about me. You'll understand if you read this."

"I'll take your word for it," he said, opening the notebook.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl. Everyone in town adored her, and she was a very happy, lucky child. But sometimes, when the little girl got really mad or upset, another side of her would appear and take over in the form of another little girl. The girl's parents were so concerned that they sent her to every doctor they knew, but none of them understood. Finally, the little girl ended up with a scientist dedicated to studies of the heart. Her parents asked if he could cure their daughter. After a few tests, the scientist realized that the two were the same person. He said that the little girl and her other side were connected because they shared the same heart, but different because they had their own personalities. It might be impossible to separate them, but he was going to try.

Now, the scientist did not live alone. He had many assistants that lived with him, and soon they all became attached to the little girl. They had never met the other side, and they didn't care to. The other side was only summoned for experimental purposes. No one got to know her. They didn't even see her until she was eleven.

Time passed, and soon the girl was fourteen years old. She fell in love with the youngest of the assistants. But because they had the same heart, the other side fell in love, too. She even started to show herself more. On one rare occasion, she completely escaped the prison of her other body and freely roamed the mansion on her own, getting to know the scientist's assistants better. It didn't last, but it wasn't the last time.

Each and every time she appeared, she'd get braver and take more risks. One of the assistants gave her a gun and taught her how to shoot every time she was with him. She became so skilled a fighter as she grew older that eventually she even wielded her own keyblade.

Another time she dyed and cut her hair to her own liking. It became permanent on both sides of the girl, with opposite colors. She got in a lot of trouble for that one. A LOT of trouble.

Meanwhile, without anyone knowing, the assistants were planning something awful behind the scientist's back. This kept up for two years in complete secrecy.

The little girl was no longer little. She was sixteen years old, and she was still in love with assistant and had no idea what he and the others were up to. But now the other side was around more. The assistant did not love her. No one loved her. She didn't even love herself. She didn't think anyone could ever love her.

Then it happened. The assistants put their plans into action, and they were, unfortunately, successful. Though the other side pleaded against it, they continued, ruining everything, including their own existence. In the process, their master was hurt and ashamed. During his remorse, he made a deal with the other side, who had now become the dominant personality. The scientist told her that if she carried out a revenge plan for him against the assistants, he would work to free her even if he died trying. She agreed.

Over two years later, the other side found the whereabouts of the former assistants. Three of them were in a castle that belonged to an organization. They had formed their own group, with others like them, based on their faulty research. She easily posed as one of their kind, with help from the scientist, and joined their group.

Only minutes after arriving in the castle did the other side meet a young man only slightly older than her. At first, they really did not like each other. But soon the other side realized that if they worked together, they could help each other. So with a little forceful negotiation, they became partners. He found her plan, and she discovered his.

Soon they had wiped out every traitor in the castle, which ended up being everyone but themselves and the younger people who were not part of the organization. Three of these young people had to fall asleep in order to regain memories lost. Then everything fell apart.

The other side's partner told her that he had to leave her behind so he could help his other best friend and so she could protect those asleep. She begged him not to go, but he did anyway. She was heartbroken, because deep down she had fallen in love with him.

A year later, the two saw each other again, thanks to one of the younger friends. But at the same time, the other side saw the scientist, who had grown unkind and cold due to his hatred and bitter regret. The partner misinterpreted the situation and left. The scientist showed no sympathy and left. The other side had no one but herself.

Then the real girl appeared and offered to talk to the other side's partner for her own reasons as well. The partner came back, realizing he was wrong, and the two were reunited. But later, he had to leave again. The other side begged him not to leave her alone, proving that she was growing weak when her original self appeared just at the very mention of her name. But he had to leave, so he did.

Very soon, the other side's younger companions awoke, and soon she was traveling with them, making new friends and seeing new places. All that time, though, she missed her partner and feared for her existence.

Sometimes, when she least expected it, they would cross paths and catch up. It was obvious they missed each other.

One day, the partner told the other side they wouldn't ever fade away. The other side began to cry, because this was his fate. He was not a normal human, but one without feelings. He was completely destined to fade into darkness. He had no heart, but she did.

She worried every night might be her last, and she wondered if she'd ever see him again.

Axel stared at the blank pages following.

"You call that an ending?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well, obviously I haven't updated it," I said.

"Then I _will_."

Taking the pencil out of the spiral bounding, Axel started scribbling away. I pouted. That left me with nothing to do but reflect.

I started looking around. The portal wasn't there anymore. We were basically trapped here. Well, no big deal. At least we had each other.

Closing my eyes, I sat down and bowed my head, waiting for Axel to finish. My mind whirled with flashbacks.

When I was dead--hah, that sounds so funny...--I experienced my life over again. Everything, from my birth to my death. It was nothing new to me, but things about it scared me. I was surprised I made it alive thus far.

"Okay, I'm done," he said at last, throwing the notebook at me and hitting me in the back of the head.

"Ow!" I cried, jumping to my feet.

"Sorry. I wasn't aiming for your head."

I didn't say anything; instead I opened the notebook to find where he had started writing. It was funny...I had never seen his handwriting before then. He wrote straight up and down, with tall letters. Typical guy handwriting. For some reason, that was comforting.

One day, the guy met the "other side" again. She and her companions needed help, so he sacrificed himself to keep her safe. The girl saw his condition and couldn't take it. So she held him close, refusing to leave him to his fate.

And they faded away.

Through a miracle, the guy woke up alive and saw the other girl, seemingly dead. He said something, and, to his surprise, the original side responded. Neither of them were dead. In fact, when the girls woke up, he found out that the other side had sacrificed her heart for him. Now he had to choose. If he choose the original girl, the other side would disappear, like she was originally supposed to. If he choose the other side, the original girl would give her life to the other side and would disappear instead.

He chose the other side. He wanted her to exist because he wanted to be with her forever.

And they lived happily ever after.

I had to read the last line a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at that very last sentence.

"And they lived happily ever after," I whispered, looking at him. The notebook slid out of my hands and fell on the ground, the pages fluttering almost as crazily as my heart.

And I ran to him.

*~*~*

Axel let Nexus run into his arms. He let her cry into his neck. He let her cling to him like a child. He didn't say anything. He just held her.

Nexus cried hard. There was so much inside of her that she wanted to let out all along, and now she finally could.

"I love you," she sobbed, standing on her tiptoes. "I couldn't tell you before. I'm sorry..." Her grip on his robe tightened. "There was so much I wanted to tell you...and I couldn't..."

"But now I know," he said, holding her close. She stood flat on her feet, looking up at him, then she nodded. "Everything?"

"Everything."

Nexus grabbed Axel by his robe and kissed him, and he (gladly) kissed her back. They were both getting a second chance. They could forget everything now. They were together.

An aquaintance of mine once said something very interesting about love: when you hold someone's hand, if the hands don't fit, the relationship won't last.

But when Nexus and Axel pressed their hands against each other's, and their fingers intertwined, their hands fit perfectly.

Perhaps it was truly destiny that they were together, for when Axel pulled her closer, both of their bodies fit, like two pieces in a puzzle.

And their lips obviously fit pretty well, considering the two had been locked together for a good five minutes, only pulling apart to breath.

Suddenly the ground started shaking.

"What's going on?" Nexus said, looking around. "Did Sora do something?"

"This is just an inbetween world, so if he defeated Xemnas..." Axel wasn't sure how to finish his sentence.

Even more suddenly, everything went pitch black.

"Ohmygosh!" Nexus chirped, staying close to Axel.

The floor beneath them disappeared, and, screaming, they fell into darkness.

"Nexus--"

She didn't get to hear what Axel was saying; her head hit something hard on the way down, and her unconcious hands released Axel.

.........

Hours Ago

"Sora, what's wrong?" Donald asked the young hero, who was scowling so much his face was starting to twitch.

"Yeah, Sora, you haven't said anythin' since we got here!" Goofy exclaimed, knocking away another shadow Heartless.

"You wanna know what's wrong?" Sora shouted, smashing his keyblade through three shadows. "I'll tell you what's wrong! This whole mess! You guys don't even care that Nexus is gone!"

He stopped to catch his breath, bending down, tears filling his eyes.

"She tried to protect us all along," he murmured, feeling the rain start to pour. "She was always there to help us. And when she really needed us, the one time we could've protected her...we _failed_!"

Donald and Goofy exchanged worried glances.

"Gawrsh, Sora, I think she _wanted_ to die," Goofy said kindly.

"Yeah, Sora, she was trying to protect Axel," Donald agreed.

"You guys don't even get it!" Sora jumped up, leading them through the streets of the World That Never Was. "There had to have been some way to prevent that! I know we could've saved them! But I didn't even try... I didn't even thank her." He stopped, his tears mixing with the rain. "I didn't say goodbye."

.........

Hours Later

"This place...looks like a graveyard," Kairi said quietly as they entered the next room.

"It is," Riku murmured, looking down at the closest grave marker. "The Flurry of Dancing Flames?"

"The Fourteenth Member..." Sora whispered, staring at Nexus' red, glowing marker. Suddenly both markers turned white, the light flooding the whole room, blinding them all.

"Whoa!" Donald quacked in surprise.

When their vision returned, Sora and Riku saw that the two markers had vanished completely, leaving only a stone carving into the ground.

"What just happened?" Kairi asked, looking at her two friends. Riku and Sora looked at each other, too stunned to speak.

_Does that mean... _Riku wondered.

_She's alive!?_ Sora thought.

There was only one way to know for sure: to defeat Xemnas.


	29. Chapter 29: I am

Chapter 29: I am (www . youtube . com/watch?v=yxzIwlK5krw)

Memo: OMG. This chapter is beast. Hahaha. I think this is one of the best moments between the two of them. :) By the way, the names are pronounced "ee-sah," "brehnt," "lee," "eye-lah," "kee-sah," "eh-lee-sah," and "eh-mee."

Nexus' PoV

Everything hurt.

I must've fallen a long way. When I finally came to, the pain kind of hit me all at once, and my eyes shot open. But...I'm so glad I opened my eyes.

_I don't know where the hell I am,_ I thought, pushing myself up.

Everything hurt, except for my heart. I had never ever felt more alive in my life. And it was all thanks to him.

_Where _is _Axel?_ I wondered, pushing my hair out of my face. My eyes widened. _Where am _I?! _This place is beautiful!_

I jumped to my feet. This place was gorgeous. There were palm trees all over the place, all kinds of them. Little shrubs and flowers dotted the soft grass and lined the outer wall of a cave. It was obviously someplace tropical. The other clue was the temperature; it was pretty warm.

"..." A smile crept onto my face. I started running forward, toward the light, and soon I found myself on a cliff. Crystal-clear blue water stretched as far as the eye could see. A warm wind blew, tossing my hair and clothes around.

Well, one thing was for sure: I was definitely on an island. And usually where there's one island, there's another.

Stepping closer to the edge of the cliff, I looked down. It wasn't too far of a drop down into the water. I was beginning to consider it, since it was getting so warm, especially now that I was under the sun. But I figured it might have something to do with the amount of clothing I was wearing.

Smiling like a big dummy, I stripped off my overshirt, then my shoes and socks, and finally my pants. I was left standing there in just a tank top and my underwear. But damn, did it feel great.

A huge gust of warm island wind hit my face, and I stretched out my arms, soaking it all in. I could've stayed there forever.

*~*~*

As Nexus stood in the sun, humming a song she hadn't heard in over a year, she failed to notice her clothes, which were being tossed up and around in the breeze. Her pants, the most mischievious, flew down off the cliff, hitting trees and bushes this way and that, and finally hit Axel right in the face.

He bolted upright, wondering what was smothering him. Clawing at his face, he pulled off the pants and stared for a moment in disbelief.

_Why do these look familiar?_ he wondered, getting to his feet. _Oh, Nex...!_

That meant she was somewhere around here, then. So, walking slowly (he had also fallen pretty hard on the ground), he wandered through the tropical forest, in awe of its beauty, but soon he found an even more beautiful sight.

Nexus was standing near the edge of a cliff, facing the sun, in minimal clothing. She was singing softly; it was a song Axel remembered from back in Castle Oblivion. He hadn't heard it since then, and he was surprised to catch her singing it again now. He smirked, and, as quietly as he could, he crept up behind Nexus and--using her pants--lassoed her around her hips.

She gasped, looked down, then giggled quietly. Stepping out of the lasso, Nexus carefully stepped to the very edge of the cliff. She beamed up at Axel while he chuckled.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You really wanna know?" she said, getting close to him. He shrugged.

"Sure."

She laughed, and then in one swift motion, she pulled Axel off of the cliff, and together they fell down toward the water. Axel looked scared, but Nexus could only laugh. They hit the water soon, one right after the other. It was a refreshing, warm temperature, just like the rest of the island. Nexus touched the sandy bottom with her foot, then pushed herself over to Axel, who was looking around for her. Pushing his cheek so he was facing her, Nexus kissed him deeply as they floated to the surface.

Nexus' PoV

I think it was then that I felt most alive...well, scratch that. But it felt...like a feeling I could never describe with words. I wanted to stop time and stay in that moment forever. His lips touching mine, his arms around me...tell me it wasn't love.

Suddenly we were interrupted by something falling on top of us. I screamed with laughter. My pants had found us.

"You're crazy," Axel said, handing my pants back to me. I laughed.

"Yeah...point?" I said, pushing my hair back out of my face.

"...I love you," he replied. I felt myself blush. "I-I've never felt this way before...about anyone."

"I know what you mean," I said softly.

We both sighed quietly in unison, then chuckled at the coincidence.

"C'mon, let's get tried off," Axel said, pulling me toward the shore.

I followed him, and soon we ended up on the beach at the lowest point of the island. It was just that: a beach. There were no houses or anything. I figured there might be some sign of civilization on the other side, but there was no way to know except explore.

"We should find my clothes," I said as we tromped through the sand. "I hope they're still on that cliff."

"Don't go running off by yourself," Axel said, grabbing my hand as I started to dash away. I blushed again. "We don't know where we are."

"Paradise?" I said, slowing down.

He looked at me like he wanted to agree, but I understood his hesitation. For all we knew, we could've been in the most dangerous place in the universe.

Though considering we didn't just die jumping off of a cliff, I was pretty sure the former explanation played true.

After finding the rest of my clothes, we found a small cave in the rocky part of the forest that was just big enough for the two of us to sit in, so we sat down, laying our clothes out to dry.

We didn't talk for a while, just kind of sat there and took things in. Things were going to be so different, it was hard to tell where we were supposed to start over.

I took some comfort in the fact that he was still holding my hand. He was always there. He would always be there. It was nice knowing that.

"I'm hungry," I said quietly.

"Yeah, me too." Axel looked around. "But I don't know what we're supposed to eat."

"Then I guess we won't." I chuckled. "If I get hungry enough, I'll just eat you."

I bit his shoulder playfully.

"Ew, you taste like...polyester."

He laughed.

"In that case, I guess we should go find something to eat."

.........

We had ourselves a fine feast that night.

No, not really. Not at all.

We just managed to find a few different fruits going on the trees around us. Some of them had cool shapes, like the shape of the moon, or of a star. In fact, the one that tasted like a star tasted the best.

I later found out from Sora that those are called paopu, and they're supposed to bind your destinies together forever.

Anyway, it was enough to keep us alive until the morning. Our clothes still weren't completely dry, so we were sitting there in the dark, Axel in just his boxers and me in just my bra and underwear. I was hoping we'd explore more of the island in the morning.

"Can you control fire still?" I asked Axel. He shrugged. "You should try to make a fire."

"What do we have to burn?" he asked, looking around.

"Ourselves?"

He frowned. "Let's not."

I frowned, too. It was supposed to be a joke, but I guess he didn't think so.

*~*~*

They were quiet after that, and the silence was starting to get to them. It wasn't that they didn't have anything to talk about or whatever. They had plenty of things to say. It was just a matter of where to start.

"So...what do we do now?" Axel asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Nexus said, looking at him.

"I mean...just that. What do we do now? Where are we supposed to go?"

"We could just stay here, if it works out," Nexus suggested.

"Yeah, I guess so." Axel sighed. "But should we get married?"

"I don't know." Nexus sighed as well. "I think it would be nice, but realistically, it's a lot of munny that we don't have, and we don't really have any family. Half of the celebration is for them anyway. I mean, at least, _I_ don't have any family."

"What about your parents?" Axel asked. She shrugged.

"I don't even know if they're alive. I don't really care, though."

"Seriously?" Axel looked away, out into the distant night sky. "I would give just about anything to talk to my parents even just one more time. How can you say that about your parents?"

"I don't know them. I barely remember them. I don't even know if they loved me."

"If they hadn't loved you, they probably never would've sent you to Ansem's in the first place," Axel pointed out.

"Look, I don't know. But I don't care to know. I don't really need them now, and they've never been there in the past. So why should I bother?"

Axel chuckled quietly.

"What? Why is that funny?" Nexus asked defensively.

"It's not funny. I'm laughing because you sound like a spoiled brat."

Nexus frowned angrily, narrowing her eyes. "Spoiled?"

"Yeah. You don't understand. Like I said, I'd love to see my family again, but I don't even have that option. They know I died a while ago, and it would freak them out if I just came and said, 'Hi, I'm your son's Nobody.' Even my brother and sisters wouldn't go for that."

"But you _know_ your family!" Nexus exclaimed. "I don't."

"You just said you didn't _care_ if you knew them."

"I don't! I don't care. It's too late to mess with that sort of thing."

"Not really. You should try and find them. They'd probably be really thrilled to talk to you."

"I doubt it. I wasn't supposed to exist, remember?"

"Neither was I."

Nexus sighed, frustrated.

"If I found them, what would I say? No, I'm not going to do that. They'd hate me because I took away their _real_ daughter."

"No, they'd hate _me_ because I chose _you_ over their real daughter," Axel said, smirking. "Besides, you don't know that. You won't know until you try. And then if they hate you, oh well. At least you know."

"I don't _want_ to know!" Nexus cried, tears in her eyes. Her voice echoed into the sky.

"Alright. Then you don't have to," Axel said coldly.

"Then I won't."

Nexus leaned her head back against the cold rock. She knew it was dark enough that Axel wouldn't be able to see her tears.

_I wonder what happened to him_, she thought, glancing at Axel out of the corner of her eye. He rested his head on the wall to his left, away from her. _How did he die? I can't ask him now, though. He's mad at me. I can't blame him, but I...don't want to see them. It makes me sick every time I think about it._

Closing her eyes, she sighed. Slowly she drifted into an uneasy sleep, Axel's hand still grasping hers.

Nexus' PoV

"Ginger! Hey!"

The strange voice startled me awake, and my eyes opened to see a big, dark red dog looking right at me, its nose in my face.

"Ginger, get over here, _now_."

Wagging its tail, the dog bounced away to its owner. Owner.

"Huh?" I gasped, sitting upright. Someone must've found us and taken us to their house. I was sitting on a sofa in their family room, but I didn't see Axel around. Maybe he was already up.

"You stupid dog. What were you doing, huh?"

It was a man's voice, but he sounded young. I stood up slowly, looking into the kitchen.

It wasn't just the man in the kitchen, but a whole family. There were four girls sitting at the table, two of them exactly identical. The man and the dog were by the stove, talking to the wife.

_I hope that man and that woman aren't married_, I thought, looking at the wrinkles on the woman's beautiful face. _They must be almost twenty years apart!_

"Brent, will you get control of that dog?" the wife asked.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm trying," Brent said, grinning. No, mother and son. Well, the closer I looked, the more I realized the son _looked like _his mother. He was beautiful, with bright blue eyes and a mess of dark brown hair. She was beautiful, too, with the same blue eyes and silver-streaked red hair.

"Mom, when does Dad get home from work tonight?" the oldest of the girls asked. She had red hair, like her mom.

"Late again. Tomorrow and Christmas he's off, though." Suddenly the mom slammed her spoon down on the stove angrily. "_Where_ is your brother? _LEIGH_!!! GET DOWN HERE _NOW_!"

"Yeah, Ma, I'm coming!" Leigh shouted from the upstairs part of the house.

None of them had said anything to me yet, but the dog seemed to like me.

"Excuse me?" I said quietly, but one of the daughters interrupted.

"Is he tinkering with his _toys_ again?" one of the twins said with a laugh.

"Well, he has a project due for a job this Saturday," the mom replied, dishing out food to the kids. Brent, coaxing the dog over, sat down across from the oldest daughter and next to one of the twins.

"They're working him so hard, and he hasn't even been officially hired yet," the other twin said. Or maybe it was the same one. They looked so much alike, it was hard to tell.

"He can't complain. He just loves playing with fire," the oldest daughter declared with a big smirk. I had to wonder if she meant that literally or not.

"Mom, I meant to ask you," Brent said, changing the subject. "Did they ever find Isa?"

"Well...yes and no," the mother replied.

"They found him dead a couple of days ago," the oldest daughter said quietly, poking her food with the end of her fork.

"But don't you _dare_ mention that to Leigh!" the mom said, hitting Brent on the head with a potholder. "He's had a hard enough time lately, and now his best friend dying like that..."

"I won't, Mom, don't worry."

"But what if _he_ brings it up?" the oldest daughter asked, smiling coyly. Brent rolled his eyes slightly.

"Um, excuse--"

"LEIGH! DINNER! _NOW_!!" The mom slammed her spoon on the stove again.

"MOM! COMING! _NOW_!!"

I heard hurried footsteps coming from above, then then hurried down the stairs to my left.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm trying to finish that stupid project," Leigh said, plopping down in the chair next to Brent. "I thought I graduated from college so I wouldn't have to _do_ stupid stuff."

"Yes, well, you won't think it's stupid when you get the job," his mother said calmly.

"Yeah, I'd better get the damn job at this rate--"

"Leigh! Not in front of your sister."

She gestured to the youngest, who hadn't said a word. She had a beautiful little face, with dark brown hair like Brent, but green eyes.

"Whatever," Leigh said, leaning back in his chair. He had to be in his early twenties, if he was a recent college graduate. He also seemed familiar, and then I realized _HE_ was the kid in the picture in my old room. Not Axel. Too bad. "So, Aila, I heard some senior from your old high school is trying to get you to be his prom date."

Aila, the oldest daughter, flushed pink.

"Yeah, I heard that, too," Brent said, grinning. "And that you said yes."

"He's been my friend since junior high," Aila said defensively. "I think it would be nice to see all my younger friends again."

Well, who could blame this kid? Aila was beautiful, too. In fact, all of them were. Only Brent and the youngest daughter had the brown hair, while the rest were gingers, even the dog. The twins had stunning blue eyes like their mom, and Leigh had the bright red hair, and the green eyes. It reminded me of Axel.

"Oh! Yeah, um, excuse me?" I said, stepping toward them all. "Have any of you seen Axel?"

I was really getting tired of being ignored, but I didn't really mind watching their little scene.

Suddenly the youngest girl raised her hand, like she was in school.

"Yes, Emi?" her mother said sweetly.

"May I go to the restroom, please?" she asked in a super-sweet, timid voice.

"Of course, sweetie."

Emi got out of her chair, pushed it in behind her, and trotted upstairs, shutting a door behind her.

"What the hell was that?" Brent asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She doesn't talk, Brent," Leigh said, sighing as he took a sip of wine. I noticed Brent and Leigh were the only kids at the table with wine glasses, meaning all of the others were younger than twenty-one.

"What? Why?" Brent looked at his mother, then at his sisters.

"People are making fun of her at school," one of the twins said.

"Because she's so small for her age," the other added.

"She won't talk to anyone but mom," Aila said.

"Have you talked to her teacher?" Brent asked. His mother nodded.

"She's tried everything. All we can do is wait for her to get taller."

"Kisa, didn't you have her teacher?" Brent asked one of the twins. She nodded.

"I tried talking to her, too. We can't get them to stop."

"It needs to stop before it gets physical, too," Aila sighed.

"If any of those kids even THINK about touching Emi, they'll never make it to junior high alive," Leigh growled under his breath.

Suddenly, interrupting the conversation, a loud noise came from upstairs. We all looked at the bathroom, but the door was open. The noise happened again a few more times, then it was followed by a shriek.

"What's going on up there?" their mother shouted up to Emi. But she just kept screaming.

"I smell smoke," Kisa said. Their mother whipped around, facing Leigh.

"Leigh!" she screamed. "Did you leave your stuff out!?"

"Yeah, I told you--I was working on it before dinner!" he cried, looking back upstairs. "_Emi_!"

"C'mon, Leigh!" Brent shouted, grabbing him and dragging him out the front door.

I could smell something burning, and I could hear the flames crackling from up above.

Soon the whole family--except Emi--and me had left the house.

"Elisa, call your dad," their mother said, giving them all commands. "Brent, call the fire department. Kisa, Aila, see if you can get the neighbors to help--"

Suddenly, Leigh burst forward from the group, running back toward the house.

"Leigh!" his mother screamed, chasing after him. "Get back here right now!"

"No, Mom!" he shouted. "This is my fault! I can't just leave her in there to die!"

"Leigh!" Aila shrieked, but he was already halfway back to the house.

Something in me prompted me to follow him. Maybe, if he noticed me, he and I could save his sister. Something about Leigh was weird. He was either really brave, or really stupid.

The upper part of the house was completely smoke when we got inside.

"_EMI_!" Leigh shouted, coughing as he sprinted up the stairs. "EMI, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

I could barely hear her screaming over the noise of the fire.

Staying close behind Leigh, I followed him into what was probably once his bedroom, but was now an inferno.

"Emi!" he cried, running over to his sister. "Dammit!"

I gasped. Emi's body was covered in flames, and most of her skin was already burnt off. The smell of burning I had sensed earlier wasn't just the fire, but her body.

"Hold on, Emi," Leigh gasped, coughing as he put on some gloves that were completely fire-proof. "Stay calm. I'll save you. I'll save you."

I couldn't believe how terrifying and yet how touching this was. Then I noticed the fire dancing around my feet, but not touching me at all. What was going on? Why was I not affected?

Suddenly a loud crack came from above our heads, and immediately after, a wooden beam broke through Leigh's bedroom ceiling.

"NO!" he shouted as it landed on him, trapping him in the flames. He screamed in pain, pulling his sister next him to try to protect her. But it was no use. Now both of them were burning alive.

Leigh, tears rolling down his cheeks, kissed his little sister's burnt hair, then both of their screams blended together into the night air.

.........

"AHHH!" I cried, opening my eyes. But I was no longer in the burning house. Instead I was in a white hallway. Leigh wasn't anywhere around, nor was Emi. But I could see shadows from an adjacent room, and I heard voices, so I knew I wasn't alone.

"Look, don't you want to see your family again?" a familiar voice asked.

"Saix?" I mouthed.

"Isa, are you sure?" Well, I recognized _that_ voice. I had found Axel.

"It's Saix now, got it memorized?"

They both chuckled, amused.

"You'll get a new name, too. And a purpose. And then we can be whole again."

"..."

"C'mon, Leigh, who knows. Maybe your sister will show up, too."

I gasped. Leigh? Axel? The same person? Maybe it wasn't Axel Saix was talking to.

But then I saw them walk by, the blue haired man, followed by the red head himself. Axel.

"Axel was Leigh?!" I gasped, pacing the hallway. "But the names don't..."

Then everything played out in my head.

Axel minus the "x" was "ael," then spelled backward, was "lea." _Lea_.

.........

Gasping, I opened my eyes, grateful to find myself back on the island with Axel. I was now curled into a ball, huddling in Axel's arms. Exhaling slowly, I sniffed back tears. Roxas was right all along.

"I know what you just saw."

Startled, I sat upright to see Axel staring at me, his face pained. It was then I noticed that the two teardrops tattooed onto his face were gone.

"How...?"

"Same heart, remember?"

I sighed, shuddering and closing my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, my throat closing up. "I understand everything now."

"It's okay," Axel said, wiping my tears away. "I'm sorry you had to watch that, but I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"...I'm sorry. You were right. I'm spoiled."

I burst into tears at just the very thought of his sister and his tragic death. That explained nearly everything.

"Haha, no, you're not," Axel laughed, pulling me close. "You're just human, like me."

He sighed, and I could hear his heartbeat. I started counting beats.


	30. Chapter 30: Heaven: Finale!

Chapter 30: Heaven--FINALE (www . youtube . com/watch?v=vfR-mkJ3LF8)

Memo: UWAAAAA!!! Hahaha, success para mi! XD Though I must admit, this makes me sad... I will be sad to leave this part behind. But the third part will be fun. :) Thank you so much for reading~!

*~*~*

Axel awoke the next morning to a soft, cool breeze blowing in his face. It probably would've chilled him had Nexus not been acting as a blanket to him, stretched across his body, sound asleep. He smiled. Not just at her, but at life.

Turning his head, he looked out toward the forest. A couple of birds were chirping at each other, and Axel could hear the sound of the surf from below. But other than that, the morning was calm and silent. He liked it here. If possible, he thought they should _stay_ here.

But then again, they still had no idea where they were and whether or not it was okay for them to be there. He wondered if today they would come across the answers to their questions.

Sighing through his nose, Axel looked down at the beach, then froze. There, in fact, was someone. Someone, in fact, he knew.

"Nex," he whispered, squeezing her hand. She let out a little irritated noise, like as if to say, "Still sleeping, thanks."

"Nex, wake up!" Axel pushed Nexus over into the grass. She jolted awake.

"What?!" she squeaked. "What's going on?"

"Look, and tell me if I'm crazy for thinking someone is down there."

Axel pointed to the shore below, and Nexus gasped.

"Kairi!?" she whispered, looking at Axel, bewildered.

"Is it?" he asked.

"I think so..."

Crawing closer, Nexus peered down at Kairi, feeling kind of like a stalker.

"Yeah, that has to be her," Nexus said quietly. "She's the only other red-head I know besides you."

Suddenly three more people appeared, people neither Nexus nor Axel had ever seen before. Two guys and a girl in a bright yellow dress. They started talking to Kairi animatedly, hugging her and twirling her around. Nexus and Axel could hear their voices, but their words were jumbled together.

After a few minutes, the threesome left, calling out and waving to Kairi, then running on their merry way.

"We should go down there," Nexus said quietly. "I mean, if Kairi is back, then..."

"But I don't see Sora...or Riku," Axel told her.

"That doesn't mean they're not there. Trust me, where there's Kairi, there's bound to be Sora."

Nexus' PoV

Finally Axel's face softened, and I grinned. At last, we'd get to see everyone again.

Grabbing my pants, I stood up on one leg, hopping around.

"You know what this means?" Axel asked me. I shook my head, trying to put my other leg into my other pantleg. "Sit down before you hurt yourself."

But it was too late; I had already fallen on my butt. We giggled like school children.

"Anyway, if Kairi is here, that means we're on one of the islands in Destiny Islands," Axel said. I jumped to my feet again, pants on.

"We are, aren't we?!" I cried, overjoyed. "So this place is okay to stay!"

Axel smirked, pulling on his Organization robe.

"But..." I frowned in deep thought, not bothering to put on my shoes. "...But where can we stay? We have no munny."

"..." I could tell by the look on Axel's face that he didn't know the answer to that quesiton either. "...Let's see what Sora and the others say. Maybe they know someplace." He scratched the back of his neck in thought. "I could always get a job. I have skills."

"Unlike me," I sighed.

"Housewife."

"Work-a-holic."

We both grinned.

"Well, whatever," I said, looking down at Kairi as I pulled on my overshirt. "We'll figure something out."

"Yeah, I figure we've been through worse."

I had to laugh at that one. Just as I did, though, Kairi whipped around and looked up at us.

"Oh damn!" Axel hissed, and both of us dropped down behind the shrubs, hiding in the shadows.

Kairi stared up at where we were for a minute or so, then shook her head and turned back around.

"That was close," I sighed, standing up again.

"Loudmouth," Axel muttered, smirking.

"Shut up, you--hey, look! There's the King!"

I could see the King walking from where the threesome had run off to, and following him was Donald and Goofy.

"They made it, too," I said happily, nearly getting choked up. "So Sora has got to be here!"

"Then why isn't he coming outside, too?" Axel asked, obviously suspicious. I shrugged.

"I don't understand it, either."

I looked around us, making sure we weren't going to be leaving anything behind.

"We should head down there now," Axel said, pulling me along.

"Yeah, okay."

But just as we started down the rocky path, a gleaming light in the distant sky caught my attention.

"Look," I said, pointing. "What is that?"

"I have no idea," Axel replied, frowning in confusion.

The light I saw actually ended up being two separate lights, close together, and just before they hit the horizon, they materialized and fell into the water.

"Whoa!" we gasped, hurrying down the path a little further to get a better view.

Then suddenly I understood. I saw two heads break the surface of the water, one shaking out his spiky brown hair, and the other pushing away silver hair.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi cried from the shore. The two boys looked at each other and grinned, swimming to shore as quickly as they could.

"C'mon!" I exclaimed, pulling Axel along.

*~*~*

Sora pushed against the waves as he swam through the water, feeling like he couldn't move fast enough. Was this real life? Or only another good dream?

But he knew it was for real when he finally reached the shore, and two of his very best friends tackled him right back into the water.

Sora couldn't stop laughing, tears streaming down his face as he hugged both Donald and Goofy. Glancing at Riku, he saw that the King and Riku were reunited as well.

Wiping his eyes, Sora looked up at Kairi. Something deep inside him felt unusually complete. He held out Kairi's charm, then looked up at his one true love.

"W-We're back," he said, still grinning.

"You're home," Kairi said, holding out her hand.

Sora slapped his hand into hers, so that both of them were holding the charm.

"About time!" someone shouted.

Sora turned to see Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka running toward them. He laughed again. This was almost perfect.

"Whoa!" Kairi squealed as a big wasp flew in front of her face. She let Sora go to swat at it, sending the keyblade hero falling back into the water.

Suddenly they all heard a loud crack, and in a split second, the bug was in the sand.

"What--what just happened?" Kairi cried, looking down at the wasp. Its body was trapped under a bullet.

"He-ey!"

Sora whipped his head around, not believing his ears.

_It couldn't be you_, he thought, slowly getting to his feet.

"Well, I'll be damned," Riku said, smirking.

"N-Nexus!?" Sora cried, running toward her.

"Hey!" she shouted, running toward him. He laughed once again. She was kind of supposed to be dead, and so was Axel. And yet here they were, right in front of him.

"_NEXUS_!" Sora shouted, picking her up and spinning her around once when they reached each other.

"Hi!" she cheered, laughing.

"What?! How?" he laughed, putting her down. He looked at both Nexus and Axel in utter shock. "How are you alive?"

"Why does it matter?" both Axel and Nexus said in unison. Sora bent over at the waist, crying.

"Aww, I'm sorry," Nexus said, hugging him.

"Shut up!" he said, pushing her away and wiping his eyes. "I'm mad at you now! You scared me, Nexus!"

But he said all of this with a huge grin on his face, one that no one could take seriously.

"Hey, c'mon, Sora," Riku said, walking past the brunette and giving Nexus a hug.

"Hey, Riku," she said. "Long time no see, right?"

"You bet."

"Nexus?"

Nexus' PoV

"Nexus?"

I knew that voice. I had only heard it once before, but the strange nasal twinge to it made it so distinctive I couldn't even forget that voice in death.

A tiny, tiny girl poked her head out from behind Riku. She had super long black hair--the longest point at her knees--in a braid, which was completely messy but at the same time really pretty. Her face was round and doll-like, white skin and all. And her eyes...were super tiny, just little slits on her face. She is probably the most beautiful person I have ever seen.

"_E_?" I gasped, stepping toward her. She stepped toward me, and her whole face burst into life with a huge grin.

"Nexus!" she cried, bounding into my arms. She was _tiny_. And adorable. "I'm so happy to see you again!...desu."

She had the same strange accent as before, but now I had a face to put with it.

"You're adorable!" I exclaimed, pushing her away to look at her.

E was maybe five foot tall, at the most, and not super skinny, but not fat either--just in between. Completely adorable.

"So are you!" E cried, then back away. She fell into a low bow, looking at the sand. Her upper body was literally parallel to the sand below us. "I have never properly introduced myself. Tsuzuki Eibin desu."

"Ehhh?" I looked at Riku, then at ...E. "_Where _are you _from_?"

"Nippon!" she cried, jumping back up, springing to life. "...Desu."

"She's from a place called Japan," Riku explained. "Her name is Eibin, but everyone just calls her E, since it's easier to remember."

"And to pronounce," I murmured, wide-eyed. This was not how I pictured E at all. She was like...an even more adorable version of Yuffie!

"Are both of you going to stay here with us?" E asked, hugging Kairi's arm as the ginger finally joined us.

"..." Axel and I looked at each other.

"We don't have any munny," I said. "So I don't see how we can."

"Well, I owe you for what you've done for me," Sora replied. "But I still don't know if that will be enough."

"We should just build them a house!" E cried, bouncing over to Riku. I nearly laughed. The height difference was incredible. "Shouldn't we? We could all help!"

"We don't want to make you do anything you don't need to do," Axel said quickly.

"But what if we _want_ to?" Sora replied, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Where?" Kairi asked, that being the first thing she had said at all. "I mean, on which island?"

"Why not this one?" Riku suggested, shrugging.

"YES YES!" E cheered, dancing over to me and hugging me. "We'll build you a house, Onee-chan ("big sister")!"

"Really?" I murmured, looking at the young people in front of me.

"We owe you," Riku and Sora said in unison. E continued to cheer, now dancing around Kairi. So adorable.

"Onee-chan needs an ie ("house")!"

"Then...we'll stay," Axel said slowly, a smile appearing on his face.

Suddenly they all broke loose in chatter, Sora telling us this and that about this certain place, Riku correcting him like a big brother, E dancing around with Kairi.

Smiling, I held Axel's hand, and together we walked on.

END

OF PART TWO!

E: AH! But this is not the end, tomodachi-san! Look for Paa-to San (Part 3) coming soon! Jaa bai bai!!


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